


If It Wasn't For You (I'd Be On My Own)

by whatyouthoughtyousaw



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: ABO dynamics, Action, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, EXO OT12, Fantasty, M/M, Romance, Wolf AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-03-21 17:15:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13745604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatyouthoughtyousaw/pseuds/whatyouthoughtyousaw
Summary: Humans and wolves had found ways to coexist in peace for centuries, but that’s all it was. Coexisting. Their worlds weren’t supposed to collide any further than maybe working in the same office building or being cordial neighbors. But when Kyungsoo discovers that his mate seems to be an improbable link between humans and wolves, him and his pack, EXO, find themselves in the very epicenter of a species war 20 years in the making.





	1. Foreword

**Author's Note:**

> Hello AO3! I'm new here, although this is not a new work. I'm cross posting my stories here from my aff account because I want to test drive this platform. You can find me over there under the same author name if you for some reason prefer aff, but I think eventually I may switch over to here depending on how this goes.  
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this story!  
> \- whatyouthoughtyousaw
> 
> **** You can find me for any questions/comments about my fics at my new tumblr page:[wytys.tumblr.com](https://wytys.tumblr.com/)**

### Foreword

Kyungsoo knew he was part of a famous pack. He didn’t quite understand _how_ it had happened, yet here he was, third in command of a pack rising in fame each day. Kyungsoo knew that being well known made you powerful, and he was proud of his pack mates for helping build that reputation. Most of all, however, Kyungsoo felt apprehensive. Being strong was definitely an advantage in their world, being known and respected was kind of nice as well, but being challenged? Kyungsoo wasn’t looking forward to that part. Greed was a powerful motivator and anyone would be stupid to not take into account that jealousy was a part of their culture. Being on top meant that it would only be a matter of time until someone else came along to test that.

Suho, the pack Alpha, knew this better than anyone, having to deal with the politics of wolf society on a day to day basis as one of the chairman on the Alpha Council. It was because of their newly found fame that Suho gathered his pack together. “We need to focus on becoming stronger.” He told him, meeting each of their gazes in turn.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol slumped back into the couch, a whine escaping the smaller one’s lips. “Suho, we spend all our free time training as it is!” The beta complained.  
His giant of a mate nodded eagerly. “Yeah, Baek is right. We could take down anyone who came at us, have a little faith in our abilities.”

Kyungsoo resisted the urge to growl at the dumb pair. “Don’t get cocky, it’ll get you killed.” He said shortly.

Suho sighed, feeling a headache coming on. “Kyungsoo is right. You shouldn’t be so sure of yourselves, being at the top simply means you have a long way to fall. But training isn’t all I had in mind.”  
There was a moment of pause as the pack waited for their Alpha to elaborate. “Training is good and we shouldn’t stop doing that, but…” He paused, glancing at Kyungsoo and Jongdae almost apologetically. “To really be strong, we need _mated_ Alphas.”

Kyungsoo felt the blush stain his cheeks. He knew finding a mate would make his wolf stronger and logically he knew he was still young and simply hadn’t found his yet, but it still felt embarrassing to have his alpha call him out on being alone.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol had the common sense to keep their mouths shut, the atmosphere tense due to Kyungsoo’s embarrassment. It was Jongdae who broke the silence. “So, you’re suggesting Kyungsoo and I go find our mates?”

Kyungsoo noticed how Suho interlocked his fingers with Yixing’s, as if seeking comfort from his own mate, before speaking again. “There is no way to simply walk outside and find your mate, we all know that. But I feel we need to… hasten the process. My gut is telling me that something big is going to happen, we need to be prepared. I think we should migrate.”

Ah, that made sense to Kyungsoo. You can’t find your intended mate unless you’re close enough to sense them, so moving around would be the most beneficial. Since every wolf had a mate, it was only a matter of time until one of them got close enough to feel the initial _pull_. From that point, it would be easy to find them.

“So, we need to start packing?” Jongdae asked, barely concealed excitement coloring his voice. Jongdae had always been the type to get bored with constants, he was always searching for ways to change things up.

Baekhyun whined, the sound high and grating on Kyungsoo’s eardrums. “Suho, we just started the school year! We’re just gonna leave?”

Suho nodded hesitantly. “I know you and Chanyeol had your year all thought out, and Kyungsoo, I know your academics are important to you, but I can’t shake the feeling that this is necessary for our pack. We don’t need to pack everything, just the basics. We’ll use guest houses along the way.”

The group broke away naturally, Chanyeol following a disgruntled Baekhyun to their shared room to give the beta some much needed comfort. Jongdae left soon after with a few excited bounds, the thrill of new adventure putting him in a good mood.

Yixing gently dislodged his hand from Suho’s grip, coming up and wrapping a comforting arm around Kyungsoo who hadn’t realized he needed comfort himself until it was actually given to him. “I’m sorry for calling you out on not being mated yet. I know it embarrassed you.” Suho said gently from his place on the opposite couch.

Kyungsoo shrugged, letting the omega ease some of the tension in his muscles. “It’s okay, I know it’s for the good of the pack.”

“And you, Kyungsoo.” Yixing said, pulling the small alpha into a brief side hug. “Having a mate makes the world so much brighter. You won’t have to face anything alone, don’t forget to think of yourself every now and again.”

Feeling a small smile pull his heart shaped lips up, Kyungsoo tried to joke. “Will it make me as gross as Chanyeol and Baekhyun?”

Suho’s laugh cut through all the remaining embarrassment and tension. “No, Kyungsoo. I don’t think it would even be possible for you to be as… _public_ as Baekhyun and Chanyeol.”  
“Good.” Kyungsoo patted Yixing’s knee, pulling away and standing. “I’m going to start packing as well.”

Watching the smaller alpha take the stairs up to the second floor two at a time, Suho opened his arms for Yixing to return to him. Yixing wasted no time in cuddling close to his mate, nuzzling his nose along Suho’s collar bones.

“I hope Kyungsoo’s mate is a really nice Omega.” Yixing whispered. “Kyungsoo needs someone who will help build him up, someone who will really compliment him.”

Suho hummed in agreement, nosing around in Yixing’s hair, breathing in the calming and familiar scent. “His mate will be perfect for him, that’s how mates work. I can only hope he finds his other half soon.”

On the second floor, pulling out clothes from his drawer to pack into his large duffel bag, Kyungsoo let himself hope. He’d never openly admit it to the others, but he was glad his pack was going to migrate. Kyungsoo didn’t want to be alone anymore.


	2. Chapter 1

   
“I thank God every day that you two are both betas, you know that?” Jongdae growled at Baek and Chanyeol, who were looking very amused at being caught making out on Jongdae’s bed. “I don’t even want to think about how bad it would be if one of you were in heat, ever.”

Kyungsoo actually _shuddered_ at that thought. Baekhyun or Chanyeol in heat? Nowhere would be safe. “Gross, Jongdae.”

Chanyeol looked as if Christmas had come early. “Baek, remember how we were talking about ways to spice up the bedroom?” 

Baekhyun, the sick bastard he was, caught on immediately to the game Chanyeol was playing. “Ah, yes! Thank you, Jongdae! Yeol, we simply _have_ to try roleplaying an omega heat next time! That will be so _hot._ ”

Kyungsoo had heard enough, starting to feel sick to his stomach. “I repeat: gross. Ew. Get out.” He shoved the betas towards the door of his and Jongdae’s room. “Go be disgusting somewhere else.”

Leading a doubled over and guffawing Chanyeol out the door, Baekhyun met Kyungsoo’s eyes with a mischievous glint. “Sure you wouldn’t like to join us, Kyungsoo? I bet I can play Omega really well.”

“Don’t make me kill you, Baek.”

“You are no fun at all, Kyungsoo. Have you ever even had a boner?” Baek shot back, undeterred by the alpha’s threats. “What about you, Jongdae? You game?”

Distracted with pulling the blankets off his bed where the beta couple had just been sucking tongue, Jongdae didn’t give Baekhyun the satisfaction of paying attention to the offer. Pushing out his bottom lip into a classic Baekhyun pout, he let the door snap shut behind him with a huff of air.

Kyungsoo collapsed on his bed with a long held in sigh, closing his eyes. He had been determined to get a nap in before packing to move to the next town over. It had been almost four months since starting out on their search for mates. Kyungsoo was tired of the constant changes, feeling more pessimistic about his fate, wondering often if this whole trip was a wasted effort. Who would be perfect for Kyungsoo, anyway? He was a tiny omega looking alpha with giant bug eyes and a prickly personality that tended to drive people away. No, Kyungsoo was probably fated to be alone.

“So, have you?” Jongdae asked after a few minutes of silence.

Kyungsoo didn’t open his eyes, feeling confused by Jongdae’s question. “Have I what?”

“Had a boner?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes shot open. “Oh, my _god_ , Jongdae. Really?”

Jongdae’s laugh was infectious, Kyungsoo finding himself breaking into a small smile at the sound of his roommate. “You looked too serious over there.”

Kyungsoo nodded, knowing from Jongdae’s reaction that he wasn’t serious with that question. Kyungsoo may look like an Omega in stature, but he was very much an _alpha_. He had needs, too. Trying to ignore the crushing loneliness that had become more familiar than not recently, Kyungsoo fell into a light sleep, plagued by dreams of warmth that was always just out of his reach.  
________________________________________  
The next morning, Kyungsoo knew the others were walking on eggshells around him. They were relocating to the next town over and the scent of anticipation was strong in the air, his pack mates anxious to see if maybe this time one of the unmated alphas would feel anything. Kyungsoo found himself resenting everyone, tearing into his toast angrily. Having your hopes brought up only to have it crushed every time a new town held nothing was taking a serious toll on him, his pack mates added pressure only serving to make relocating that much harder.

Kyungsoo watched Jongdae chatting effortlessly with Chanyeol about some anime they had both been watching, the alpha looking the same as he did any other day. Kyungsoo was jealous of Jongdae’s security. A couple days ago, Jongdae confessed that he had felt _something_ , too weak to be called a Pull, but enough that Jongdae was sure he would meet his mate soon. _“I don’t think I’ll meet them in a town, I think we’ll be just bumping into each other.”_

“Kyungsoo, don’t look so angry. There is a small college in the next town, I have a good feeling about this!” Suho attempted, trying to lift the moody atmosphere brought on by Kyungsoo’s glaring.

Kyungsoo knew his pack only meant well, knew that his embarrassment and frustration was unfounded, but couldn’t bring himself out of his foul mood. “You say that about every town, Suho.”

Sighing, Suho stood up. “Right, well, as soon as everyone is done we’ll just be on our way.”

The car ride started normally, Kyungsoo sitting in the front seat next to Suho since no one else wanted to be forced into sitting next to the moody alpha. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were singing loudly in the back seat, Jongdae joining in occasionally if he knew the song. Yixing was bobbing his head along to the beat, always sincere in his enjoyment of his pack mate’s happiness.

Kyungsoo sat with his earbuds in, even though he hadn’t turned any music on. He would never say it, but he enjoyed hearing his pack mates sing. Listening to them was helping him keep the anxiety at bay. The closer they got to the new town, the more Kyungsoo felt his skin was crawling. Figuring it was due to the anticipation, Kyungsoo pretended to be in a world of his own, hoping the voices of his pack family and the forest scenery passing by the window would keep him from being crushed by his own feelings.

Kyungsoo could see the exit they were going to take up ahead. Deep in his core, a shiver began, goosebumps appearing on the alpha’s skin. With each meter they moved forward, an ache that seemed to steam from his actual heart increased, reaching a point where the small alpha couldn’t stop his low whine of discomfort from escaping.

“Kyungsoo?” Suho asked, concerned by the pained sound coming from the alpha seated beside him.

Kyungsoo couldn’t bring himself to respond, scared of whining more if he opened his mouth. Biting his lip, Kyungsoo griped his shirt, curling into himself as the ache transitioned into more of a burn, sending licks of internal fire from his heart through his veins to the tips of his fingertips.

Around him, he could hear the sounds of worried pack mates, asking if he was alright, the voices gaining volume and urgency as Kyungsoo continued not to answer. He was trying to hold in the fire, to not let himself burn to a crisp where he sat.

“I’m pulling over!” Suho called, his voice cutting through all the haze. Surprising everyone including himself, Kyungsoo’s inner wolf took over and he _growled_.

_Have to keep going. … Close... close now._

Gasping for air, Kyungsoo apologized. “Sorry… Don’t know… Don’t stop.”

_Waited too long…_

A small gasp came from Yixing, the omega leaning forward to grip Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Kyungsoo, do you feel your mate? Is this your Pull?”

“Ah,” Kyungsoo groaned as the fire intensified at the mention of ‘mate’.

Mate. _Mate. Of course. My mate is near!_

“Judging by the way my wolf is absolutely howling in pleasure right now, I’d say yes.” Kyungsoo choked, the intensity of the fire diminishing into just a prickly warmth just under his skin, his wolf basking in the triumph of the unclaimed mate close enough to sense.

“I thought the pull was supposed to be a good thing? Why does Kyungsoo look like he is dying?” Chanyeol asked bluntly.

Kyungsoo was too busy trying to reign in his wolf, who seemed determined to do every cliché happy thing known to man, to snap at the giant.

“You and Baekhyun were always together, you never had to search for your intended.” Yixing said softly. “It’s painful to feel close yet far away at the same time.”

“Does this mean we’re going to settle here for a while?” Jongdae asked.

Suho nodded from the front seat, keeping an eye on Kyungsoo and the road as they got closer to the town limits. “They will probably be close in age to Kyungsoo, so we’ll start by getting him enrolled in the college here. From there, we’ll have to see. Hopefully Kyungsoo’s mate won’t already be committed to a pack, it’s always simpler to deal with an untied wolf when mating. We’ll just have to wait until Kyungsoo finds him or her.”

The atmosphere settled into one of quiet excitement, the members of EXO watching as the town they would be staying in beginning to flit by the windows. Kyungsoo felt himself relax into his seat, the fire calmed to a slight tingling that was overpowered by the excitement of his wolf. Smiling, Kyungsoo hummed along with the song Baekhyun was playing from the backseat. He wasn’t going to be alone after all.


	3. Chapter 2

To say Jongin wasn’t a morning person would be a severe understatement. Jongin _despised_ mornings. Normally, no amount of convincing could get Jongin up any sooner than 10 minutes before Sehun was here to pick him up to get to school on time. That’s why today Jongin was surprised when he woke up more than an hour earlier on his own, feeling a strange excited current that kept him from being able to fall back to sleep.

Giving up after almost 45 minutes, Jongin made his way to his bathroom, taking much more care than he usually had time for to wash his face slowly and fix his hair. Upon examination, Jongin noticed his cheeks were flushed with much more color than usual, his eyes looking almost feverish. Maybe he was getting ill?

“Mom?” Jongin called, moving into the hallway outside of his room and down the stairs.

His mother was leaning against the kitchen counter, eating an egg white only omelet while scrolling through a news app on her cell phone. “Jongin? You’re up awfully early. Is everything alright?”

Settling down onto one of the stools positioned across the counter, Jongin pouted. “I can’t sleep anymore, I feel kind of weird.”

Cooing, Jongin’s mom reached across the counter to feel her son’s forehead. Jongin noticed her eyes light up with some kind of realization, but she simply sighed. “You’ll be fine, dear.” She told him, going back to her omelet. “Get some breakfast and finish getting ready for school.”

When Jongin was a child, he often felt like his mother had a secret she was keeping from him, remembering sentences cut off halfway and eyes that held answers even when her words said otherwise. Jongin felt that old suspicion returning now as he noticed his mother fidgeting with her fork, her eyebrows knitted together like she was concerned about something. The electric current under his skin intensified, as if to confirm that Jongin didn’t know something important.

Deciding that he was mostly likely being paranoid, Jongin fixed himself a bowl of cereal and finished going about his long morning. By the time he heard Sehun’s telltale honking in his driveway, Jongin could have cried in relief. He had been so bored. Why anyone would choose to have this much extra time in the morning he’d never understand.

In an ideal world, Jongin and Sehun would’ve been roommates on campus. The reality, though, was Sehun was a wolf who wanted to wait to find his pack before moving and Jongin still lived at home because he couldn’t bear the thought of living with anyone other than Sehun. At least his best friend was still willing to pick him up in the mornings.

Sehun wasn’t watching as Jongin shut the front door and made his way to the passenger seat, eyes and fingers glued to his cell phone. Opening the door, Jongin rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, texting your boyfriend?”

“You seem awfully awake this morning.” Sehun commented flatly, ignoring Jongin’s question as he set his phone in the empty cup holder between them.

Sighing, Jongin relaxed into the seat, pulling the seatbelt on. “Sehunnie, I woke up almost _two hours_ early, I couldn’t sleep anymore.” he pouted as Sehun started backing out of the driveway.

“A whole two hours? Are you dying?” Sehun, in his entire life knowing Jongin, had never heard of Jongin waking up early, not once. Sehun was convinced Jongin was some entirely different species of human who needed sleep more than he needed air.

“Maybe? I feel kind of weird. I can’t help but feel like I’m _missing_ something? Maybe a test or something important that was supposed to happen today. Is there anything happening today?”

Sehun gave it a moment of thought. “This weekend is my five-month anniversary with Luhan? That’s all I can think of this week.”

Jongin fake gagged without much enthusiasm. “You guys are disgusting. You two already act all lovey dovey on normal days, I don’t know why you feel the need to take it to extremes every month.”

“A human like you wouldn’t understand the bond Luhan and I have, thank you very much. Anniversary celebrations keep things _interesting_ , if you know what I mean.”

“Gross.”

“You’re just jealous.” Sehun said, flipping his hair like the overconfident brat he was. Jongin would never admit he was right, but in a way, Jongin _was_ jealous of his best friend. There was something poetic about having one person meant for you out there. Being human, Jongin would have to date around until he found someone to spend his life with and even then, there was a chance it wouldn’t work out in the end. Jongin thought Sehun was lucky he had found his soulmate already.

The rest of the commute was spent in comfortable silence, Sehun immersed in his driving, Jongin watching houses pass by outside the window. When they arrived on the small campus and parked in their regular section of the parking lot, Jongin made his usual promise to see Sehun in the cafeteria for lunch and made his way through the crowd of students to his first class, trying to ignore the way the current under his skin was beginning to feel more like flames warming him from the inside out.

________________________________________

“You look like shit.” Luhan commented, sounding surprised as Jongin slumped into his usual seat across from Luhan in the cafeteria.

Jongin couldn’t bring himself to reply, simply folding his arms on the table and laying his head down on them. He only had two more classes to go to, but he didn’t know how much longer he could last like this. He knew without Luhan’s comment that he must looked wrecked. He had run his fingers through his hair so many times today that it probably looked like a bird’s nest. His skin felt flushed and tingly, calling for some kind of relief he couldn’t find anywhere. Jongin wanted to scream or maybe even cry, wishing more than anything he had just stayed home after all.

“Luhan! Have you met the new wolf transfer?” Sehun’s voice seemed to echo too close to Jongin’s ear, making his head pound. Jongin groaned. “God, what happened to you, Jongin?”

Only managing another groan, Jongin slumped further into his arms. “He just showed up like this.” Luhan supplied. “He looks like he’s in heat or something.”

Jongin felt Sehun’s hand on his shoulder, the contact sending another wave of flames through his insides, the pain causing him to gasp. “Hey, Jongin, let’s go to the nurse, okay? Or maybe I can take you home.”

Jongin sat up, gently pushing Sehun’s hand off to lessen the intensity of the flames. “No, I need to stay.”

Sehun took in his best friend’s appearance and shook his head. “I don’t think it’s worth it, Jongin. You seriously look terrible.” Seeing the stubborn expression in Jongin’s eyes, Sehun tried again. “At least visit the nurse before going to your next class. You won’t miss anything you can’t catch up in in biology, anyway.”

Jongin thought about it and knew Sehun was right. The biology professor just lectured out of the textbook for the hour-long class, Jongin could easily read the chapter while he was resting in the nurse’s office instead. “Okay. I just can’t miss calculus, I’m not good at it as it is.”

Sehun and Luhan walked with him to the nurse’s office, their pace slower than usual because the two were scared their friend might collapse if they moved too fast. Jongin followed along, grateful for the slow pace as he listened to his friend’s conversation.

“Anyway, have you met the new wolf transfer student yet, Lu?”

“No, but I’ve heard of him. An alpha, right?”

“Yeah, he was in my history class. His name is Kyungsoo. I had a hard time believing he was an alpha at first, he looks more like an omega, but even I almost bowed my head in submission when I caught his scent. I feel bad for all the omegas in the area today, that’s for sure.”

“Does he belong to a pack?”

“He’s part of _EXO_ , Luhan. Like, _the_ EXO.”

Luhan gasped. “No way! My dad was just talking about them last night! EXO’s alpha, Suho, is like, super high up in the Alpha Council. They are supposed to be a really strong pack.”

“Judging by Kyungsoo who said he was third in command, I have no problem believing that. Can you even imagine, belonging to a powerful pack like that?”

“My dad would be so proud. He keeps drilling it into me that we need to find a pack soon, but all the packs around here just feel wrong.”

“Maybe we should buddy up to Kyungsoo, eh?”

“We can see how it goes, but I don’t know. EXO? Us? It probably won’t work. What even brings EXO to this town, anyway?”

“Kyungsoo said they were looking for something. Do you think the Council sent them on a mission?”

“I don’t know, Sehunnie. There is no alpha in this town important enough to know if the Council sends packs on missions or not, it’s just a myth as far as I know.”

“I bet they do, though. Ah, Lu, let’s become good friends with Kyungsoo, okay? I wanna know!”

Despite growing up with a wolf best friend, Jongin didn’t feel like he knew very much about the wolf world. He knew that Sehun was what was called a beta and Luhan was an alpha, and he knew the basic history that you have to study for class – the wars, when the Peace Treaty between wolves and humans came into existence, the merging of the societies and the recognition of the Alpha Council and the main judicial power in wolf society – but he never learned the finer details. Listening to Luhan and Sehun talk about pack lives and status was always interesting to Jongin, their worlds exactly the same but their challenges so different.

Upon entering the nurse’s office, Jongin made eye contact with a middle-aged nurse, who sighed as she stood up and made her way around the counter towards them. “You’re the fifth today, son. That new alpha transfer student triggered your heat?”

Eyes wide, Jongin stumbled to dismiss that idea while trying not to die of embarrassment as Sehun snickered behind him. “I… um… I’m not in heat or anything, I’m human, so…?”

It was the nurse’s turn to feel embarrassed, apologizing and ushering Jongin into a room off to the right, pushing him down gently onto the bed. “I’m so sorry, I just thought… You look like… Anyway, what seems to be the problem?”

“He just doesn’t feel well enough to go to his next class.” Sehun said for him.

The nurse nodded. “You do look ill. Are you sure you don’t want to just go home for the day?”

Jongin shook his head. “I don’t want to miss my calculus class.”

“Alright, I understand. What’s your name?” The nurse asked, moving to her computer.

“Kim Jongin.”

After a few clicks, the nurse smiled at the group of three. “Alright, Mr. Kim. You’re welcome to spend as long as you need to here. If you start to feel worse, let me know. Don’t push yourself, work can always be made up.”

“I have to go, or I’ll be late for my next class.” Luhan said, giving Sehun a quick peck on the cheek. “See you later, Sehunnie. Feel better, Jongin!” The alpha said, quickly disappearing into the hallway of students.

“Will you be alright if I go hit the library for a research project now?” Sehun asked. “I’d rather get it out of the way now so we don’t have to stay after classes are over and the library gets crowded with study groups.”

Jongin nodded, pulling out his biology textbook and settling himself on the sick bed. “I’ll be fine, go ahead.”

“Thanks, Jongin! I’ll stop by on my way to calc and we can go together!”

The hour in the nurse’s office went by at a snail’s pace. Jongin tried to find a comfortable position, twisting and turning on the uncomfortable bed, searching for any position that lessened the tingling and warmth just under his skin. About ten minutes in, Jongin knew it was a lost cause. After hurrying and reading the biology chapter he was missing, he found himself laying on his side just as he had that morning, unable to sleep, unable to do anything but watch the second hand of the clock slowly tick away the seconds.

Jongin knew at this point that he’d be uncomfortable no matter if he went home or not, so he may as well save himself from making up the absent work.

“You look a little bit better, I think?” Sehun said, his inflection making it more of a question than a statement when he stopped by the room. “Do you feel better?”

Jongin shook his head, standing up and swinging his backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll be alright, though.”

With one last thank you to the nurse, Jongin and Sehun made their way to their only shared class. “Are you going to try and get close to that Kyungsoo guy?” Jongin asked his friend as they maneuvered their way through a pack of students who were taking up most of the hallway.

Sehun shrugged. “If we don’t try, we’ll never know. We’re reaching an age where we should have a pack in mind to join, but neither of us like the packs who stay in this area. It would be so cool to belong to a pack as well-known as EXO.”

“I’m glad I don’t have to think about what pack to join, it sounds complicated.”

Sehun laughed. “I’d actually prefer it this way, but I’m made for this. Actually, speaking of Kyungsoo, he is in this class with us. I already invited him to sit at the empty spot at our table. Is that going to be okay?”

Jongin nodded, knowing Sehun would handle all the conversation. Jongin wasn’t terribly shy, but he was quiet around new people until he got to understand them. Sehun was really social, but he never forced Jongin to hang around anyone he wasn’t comfortable with. “If it helps you and Luhan find a pack, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Jongin. I have a really good feeling about it, no matter what Luhan thinks."

They reached the math room before the transfer student did, Jongin noticed, taking his regular seat by the edge of the table and pulling out his textbook from his backpack. Suddenly, the intensity of the flames inside him flared up stronger than before, causing him to take a sharp inhale through gritted teeth, slumping forward onto the table and squeezing his hands until his knuckles turned white.  
Jongin felt like he was actually on fire this time. He didn’t understand why no one noticed the flames, why someone hadn’t pulled the fire alarm yet. He tried to focus on breathing in and out, hoping that it would pass if he just gave it a second.

Sehun seemed to be torn, hands fluttering around him, unsure of what to do to help. “Jongin, really, if you want to go home, I’ll come over and go over the homework with you tonight.”  
“Hey, Sehun, is he okay?” Jongin heard a concerned unfamiliar voice ask. Jongin found that he couldn’t _not_ respond to that voice, its smooth tones snapping Jongin’s head up from the desk, his eyes meeting a pair of big, brown orbs staring back at him.

It was if those eyes held a bucket of cold water, the fire inside Jongin dowsed immediately, replaced by a pleasant cool that eased all the discomfort. Jongin couldn’t stop a sigh of relief from escaping his lips. He didn’t even want to blink, unwilling to break the eye contact for even part of a second.

“Um… I was about to drag him off to the nurse, but he seems to be okay now?” Sehun’s voice interrupted after what felt like a lifetime.

It was if Sehun had broken the spell, the large eyes locked with Jongin’s blinking and turning away. Confused by the disappointment he felt over those eyes looking away first, Jongin started to notice more about the boy standing in front of their table. Jongin had definitely never seen him before, so this was probably the Kyungsoo Sehun had been talking about. He was a little shorter than Jongin himself, his hair jet black and styled nicely. Despite his lack of height, there was a hint of muscles underneath his dark t-shirt, suggesting that he wasn’t someone to mess with. His face is what held Jongin’s attention, though. Along with those wide eyes that Jongin wished would look back at him, the boy had lips that he could only describe as heart shaped. Jongin was fascinated.

“Are you okay now, Jongin?” Sehun continued, and the boy looked back at Jongin, waiting for his answer. Jongin could only nod in response, caught up in those wide eyes again. There was a warmth in there that drew Jongin in deeper, making him feel better than he had in a long time.

“Ah… Kyungsoo, this is my best friend, Jongin. Jongin, this is Kyungsoo.” Sehun’s voice sounded awkward as he tried to introduce them while they continued to stare only at each other.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jongin.” Kyungsoo said in that silky voice that made Jongin’s stomach flip.

“N-nice to meet you, too, Kyungsoo.”

________________________________________

“Thank you, you’ve done your job well.” The alpha said before ending the phone call with a few quick taps. From his usual lookout behind the small college, he smiled, feeling the excitement and anticipation start to build within him. Yes, it was _finally_ happening.

The alpha stood, stretching his limbs for a few seconds before letting his body rip open, his phase to wolf form happening in the blink of an eye. Where an alpha had stood just before now stood a large, auburn wolf, tongue lulling out in a strange wolfish grin.

With one last look back at the school where he knew his prey resided, the wolf took off into the trees, intent on finding his pack. There were many preparations to finish now.


	4. Kyungsoo Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I couldn't pick a POV to stick with for Jongin and Kyungsoo's meeting, here is Kyungsoo's version of the same events as the last chapter - I felt like understanding both of their thoughts was worth the repeat

Kyungsoo’s first day back in a school environment had left him feeling drained as well as extremely discouraged. He felt like he had probably met all of the unmated wolves in the school by now and still, he hadn’t come across the wolf that had triggered his Pull. Kyungsoo had been so certain that his mate would be here, had been so full of nerves and excitement this morning that he was sure to be the butt of Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s jokes for at least a month, but for what? A mate that seemed nonexistent?

Making his way to the last class of his schedule, calculus, Kyungsoo tried to stay optimistic. There were some really nice wolves here, ones that were very friendly. A beta named Sehun had even invited him to sit at his table for this last class. Kyungsoo was a quiet person, so the fact that Sehun had reached out and given him a way to not feel so alone in this new environment was something that he sincerely appreciated.

Finding the right classroom, Kyungsoo entered and took only a few seconds to find Sehun sitting at a table near the back right corner of the room. It was the boy next to Sehun, however, that captured and held his attention. Kyungsoo felt his wolf hone in on the mop of brown hair laying on the table with a laser focus, a familiar warm prickly sensation starting just under his skin. A quick inhale informed Kyungsoo that the only wolf in the classroom was Sehun, so why were Kyungsoo’s instincts screaming _mate_ in his head?

Needing to investigate further, Kyungsoo approached the table Sehun and the boy were seated. The boy seemed to be in pain, Kyungsoo noticed his knuckles clenched so tight they looked bright white, causing Kyungsoo’s stomach to clench in intense concern.

“Jongin, really, if you want to go home I’ll come over and go over the homework with you tonight.” Sehun was saying to the boy in a worried tone. _Jongin_ , he’d called him. His wolf thrummed happily at the name.

When the boy didn’t answer, Kyungsoo’s worry reached a point where he couldn’t ignore the situation, even if it wasn’t good manners to get involved in random situations. “Hey, Sehun, is he okay?”

It was if his question had completely awoken the boy, his head pulling up from its place on the table, warm chocolate eyes making contact with Kyungsoo’s. He heard the boy – _Jongin_ – sigh, his face relaxing and it clicked. Kyungsoo knew then, seeing and hearing the relief in his breathing that this Jongin was the source of his Pull. If Kyungsoo had been in wolf form, he knew he’d be bounding in happy circles, howling in relief as well. Kyungsoo wasn’t in wolf form, however, and could only stare at Jongin, frozen in this moment.

“Um…” Sehun began, snapping Kyungsoo out of his stupor. “I was about to drag him off to the nurse, but he seems to be okay now?”

Kyungsoo had to yank his eyes away from Jongin, taking a moment to assess the situation one more time. He took a deep breath to smell the surroundings. Sehun’s scent was heavy, the only wolf scent in the room other than his own. Kyungsoo started to feel a little panicked, knowing that he had found his mate, but his mate smelled like a human. Wolves and humans didn’t mate, it wasn’t possible. Kyungsoo took another breath to calm himself and caught it.

It was so weak that it almost didn’t exist at all, but Kyungsoo _caught_ it. Along with the beta scent of Sehun, there was a faint scent of an omega on Jongin. It was as if Kyungsoo was catching the scent of a tree some weeks after it had been marked, but he was sure it existed. How Jongin had the scent of a human as well as an omega, Kyungsoo had no idea. He’d never heard of anything like it.  
This realization did nothing to help the panic Kyungsoo was experiencing underneath all the heady happiness from his wolf. Kyungsoo’s instinct was to _claim_ his mate, to make this boy his in all the ways wolves could belong to one another. But if Jongin believed that all he was is human, there is no way Kyungsoo could put any claim on him. It might hurt him. The urge to claim his mate was strong but the urge to keep him safe was stronger, even if that meant keeping the boy safe from his own wolf instincts. He was going to have to hold back, at least until he could talk to Suho and get a better understanding of what was happening.

“Are you okay now, Jongin?” Sehun asked. He looked back at Jongin, wanting to know himself if the boy was alright. As they made eye contact once more, Jongin only nodded to confirm he was okay, but it was enough for Kyungsoo.

“Ah… Kyungsoo, this is my best friend, Jongin. Jongin, this is Kyungsoo.” Sehun’s voice sounded strained and uncomfortable, but Kyungsoo couldn’t bring himself to care.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jongin.” Kyungsoo said seriously, Jongin’s name feeling _so right_ on his tongue, as if he was made to say that name.

“N-nice to meet you, too, Kyungsoo.” Jongin replied, his voice deeper than Kyungsoo had expected.

_Mate. My mate._ Kyungsoo’s wolf practically purred, the joy making Kyungsoo feel light. Human, wolf, or somewhere in between, Kyungsoo didn’t care. Somehow, Jongin was meant for him and he was meant for Jongin. There had to be a way to make this work, Kyungsoo was just going to have to find it.


	5. Chapter 3

The rest of calculus passed by in a blur, Kyungsoo unable to focus on the professor whatsoever. His eyes kept travelling to Jongin. The boy was handsome, with warm eyes, a sharp jawline, and plush lips. He was tall as well, limbs long and well proportioned. And don’t forget that honey toned skin that made the alpha want to reach out and see for himself if it was as smooth as it looked.

The longer Kyungsoo was in the room, the more prominent Jongin’s scent became to him. Human scents tended to be a little weaker and less in your face, yet Jongin's scent was alluring. Somehow both floral and spice scented, it was a mix that Kyungsoo couldn’t put a name to. There was a slight _sweetness_ that was the omega scent under the rest, calming and especially pleasant to his wolf. He wished Sehun wasn't seated between them so he could enjoy it even more.

When the teacher excused them at the end of the lesson, Kyungsoo couldn’t have told you a single thing they were supposed to have learned. While the rest of the class gathered their things and began to file out of the door, Kyungsoo and his table remained seated. He didn’t want to separate from Jongin, not this soon. Jongin seemed to share that sentiment, packing up his things at an almost comically slow pace. Sehun watched curiously, unmoving himself as he looked back and forth between his best friend and new acquaintance.

Surprising the two wolves, it was Jongin who spoke first. “Kyungsoo, do you ride the bus home?”

Feeling the shiver of happiness when Jongin said his name, Kyungsoo shook his head. “No, I have one of my pack mates picking me up today.”

Kyungsoo could sense Sehun’s excitement at the mention of his pack mates, remembering that the beta had been very interested in EXO. Instead of finding it as annoying as he had in the past, Kyungsoo felt Sehun’s almost fan boy behavior towards his pack was rather endearing. Seeing an opportunity to possibly extend the amount of time he had with Jongin, Kyungsoo smiled at the beta. “Would you like to meet my pack, Sehun?”

The beta’s eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his head. “I’d love to! Is that alright?”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but laugh at Sehun's expression. “Yes, it’s fine. We are staying in a guest house, but we have plenty of room for visitors. Your mate can come along if he’d like. Would you like to come as well, Jongin?”

Jongin seemed to think about the offer for too long, Kyungsoo getting anxious as he waited for an answer. Finally, he nodded. “If you don’t mind me tagging along. I don’t really want to take the bus home alone.”

While Kyungsoo, Sehun, and Jongin made their way to the front lobby to wait for Sehun's mate, Luhan, Kyungsoo sent a text to the group chat room he shared with the pack.

##### Kyungsoo: I'm bringing friends home.  
Baek: U MADE FRIENDS?! who ru and what have u done with soo?!  
Kyungsoo: shut up.  
Kyungsoo: Suho, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you, will you be home?  
Suho: I will be soon. What is it?  
Kyungsoo: I'll explain in person.  
Yixing: did you find your mate? <3 ;3  
Baek: RU BRINGING UR MATE 2 THE HOUSE?????????]  
Baek: KYUNGSOO I SWEAR 2 GOD IF U BRING UR MATE WHAEN IM NOT THERE

Kyungsoo closed the messaging app before he could see what Baekhyun would do if he brought Jongin home without him there. He would be stupid to miss the opportunity today gave, since Suho had sent Baekhyun and Chanyeol out to do some errands with Yixing. They wouldn’t be able to return for at least a few hours now.

Luhan turned out to be a very pretty looking alpha, sporting an innocent looking face that contradicted his very dominant scent. Kyungsoo liked him immediately, feeling a kindred relationship there. He knew what it was like to not look like the “typical” alpha. The struggle was real.

Kyungsoo watched as Sehun and Luhan unconsciously created a world of their own, holding hands and speaking in low whispers about their day. Jongin hovered close by, not interrupting while still not straying too far. Jongin’s expression was relaxed as he simply watched students around him hustle out of the school.

Kyungsoo took a few steps closer to Jongin, breathing in his alluring scent again. “Do you ever get tired of being the third wheel?”

Jongin gave Kyungsoo a small smile. “I can keep myself entertained. They make each other happy and that makes me happy, too.”

Kyungsoo’s inner wolf wanted to coo at that response, Jongin seemed so sweet. His personality seemed very mature and level, something Kyungsoo appreciated. Jongin truly seemed like the kind of person he would want to get to know even if his wolf wasn’t all but falling down at the boy’s feet.

“How long have you and Sehun been friends?” Kyungsoo asked, since he hadn’t gotten a text from Jongdae yet. He wanted to hear Jongin’s attractive voice some more.

“We’ve known each other since we were both born.” Jongin said. “Our mothers are really close, so I could probably consider him a brother to me at this point, even if he's a wolf and I'm human. We do everything together.”

Kyungsoo tried not to let his emotions show on his face when Jongin referred to himself as human, but it scared him. If Jongin truly thought he was nothing but a human, was Kyungsoo imagining the omega scent coming from him after all? Trying his best to push those thoughts to the back of his mind until he could talk to Suho, Kyungsoo tried to respond as naturally as he could. “It’s rather uncommon for humans and wolves to be that close, though, isn’t it?” He managed.

Jongin seemed to consider that for a moment, eyes wandering to the remaining students lingering near the other side of the lobby. “Maybe that’s true, but I’ve never known any different. People like to give Sehun and me a hard time about it, but I don’t really see wolves any different than myself. We go through different things, but we have the same emotions. We’re not that different.”

“Your view is…” Kyungsoo considered his word choice for a moment. “Refreshing.”

"Really?" Jongin seemed to be surprised, his eyebrows pulling up slightly. "You aren’t… angry that I feel we’re similar?”

Kyungsoo was confused. “Not at all? I grew up in a place _very_ different from here. Most of the humans I came across hated me for what I was. No, it’s a relief to hear that you aren’t like that.”

“I thought maybe because you were part of an important pack like EXO, you’d be offended.” Jongin admitted.

Kyungsoo couldn’t stop his laughter from escaping at that. “An important pack? As if. We seem to have quite the reputation, but I assure you we aren’t that special.” Kyungsoo felt his phone buzz, the signal that Jongdae had arrived. “Speaking of my pack,” he announced loud enough for Sehun and Luhan to hear, “my ride is here.”

Kyungsoo lead the very excited beta, wary alpha, and the amused human out of the school towards the curb where he could already spot the black SUV that the pack shared. Upon getting closer, Kyungsoo watched as Jongdae stepped out of the car to introduce himself to the group Kyungsoo had following him.

“Heyo, kiddo!” Jongdae called, waving with his entire arm. “Who’re your friends?”

Kyungsoo came to a stop on the curb, feeling a slight annoyance at being called ‘kiddo’. “Jongdae, this is Sehun, Luhan, and Jongin.” He said, gesturing to each of them in turn.

Jongdae reached a hand out to shake that of his new acquaintances, taking an exaggerated deep breath to pull in their scents. “A beta, an alpha, and… a human?” he asked. Kyungsoo knew he was confused about the presence of Jongin, no one in the pack had ever brought a human over before. It _was_ rare for wolves and humans to get along well enough to go to each other’s houses, after all. Kyungsoo simply gave Jongdae a pointed look, trying to get it across that he’d explain back at the guest house. Seeming to understand, Jongdae smiled his large, cat smile. “I’m Jongdae, it’s nice to meet you. Any friends of Soo’s are friends of mine.”

Kyungsoo shoved the older alpha. “Don’t call me Soo.”

Sehun looked absolutely star struck. “It’s nice to meet you, Jongdae!”

Jongdae nodded at Sehun with another smile. “Are you riding with us there?"

Sehun shook his head. "I actually have my car parked over there." He pointed to one of the parking lot rows a few down from the area where Jongdae had parked. "Is it alright if we just follow you?"

"Of course." Jongdae said with another smile. "We'll just wait here for you, then."

As Sehun lead Luhan and Jongin away, Kyungsoo joined Jongdae who was climbing into the SUV, trying his best to ignore the way his wolf was pouting over losing sight of Jongin. “So, you made friends with a pair of mated wolves and a human. What's so urgent about this?” Jongdae asked, shutting the door and putting his seatbelt on.

Kyungsoo decided that he wanted to see if someone else could pick up on Jongin’s scent, just to make sure it wasn't in his imagination. “I’ll explain later.” He muttered, ignoring the confused look on Jongdae’s face.

When they could see Sehun pull up behind them, Jongdae pulled away from the curb, leading the car full of Kyungsoo’s new friends to their temporary residence.

“How’s the school?” Jongdae asked, trying to get a conversation going.

“It’s really small.” Kyungsoo said, trying to catch glimpses of Jongin through the side door mirror unsuccessfully. “I’m ahead of the curriculum in most of my classes. Honestly, today was pretty frustrating. A lot of people were talking about me, it was like going back to high school with the amount of gossip going around.”

"Yeah." Jongdae sighed. "This place definitely has that ‘small town’ kind of vibe to it. There is no way we’re going to go unnoticed here. Suho is actually going around and trying to make contact with the permanent packs of the area so we avoid conflict where possible.”

“He’ll be back before Baekhyun and Chanyeol, right?” Kyungsoo asked, feeling a little panicked at the idea of the betas being around after all.

“For sure. He’ll be home a little bit after we get there.”

Kyungsoo relaxed into his seat. “Thank god.”

Jongdae laughed, understanding Kyungsoo's relief. “It’ll just be us alphas today.”

“That will be good.” Kyungsoo said more to himself as they pulled into the driveway.

The two alpha’s exited their SUV and waited near the front door for Kyungsoo’s new friends. Sehun had parked along the curb and was just short of skipping up the pathway. Luhan and Jongin simply watched Sehun with amused expressions, following behind the excited beta with much more causal strides.

Jongdae lead the way into the house, setting the example of taking his shoes off by the front door. “Welcome to our temporary home!” He said warmly, beckoning for them to join him in the living room area after they had all followed his lead.

Kyungsoo would had loved to sit next to Jongin, but he knew it would be more comfortable for his three guests to sit on the larger black leather couch together. Kyungsoo joined Jongdae on the smaller loveseat on the other side of the room instead. Before the atmosphere could begin to settle into an awkward silence, Jongdae took it upon himself to make conversation once again. “So, Sehun and Luhan, I can tell you two are together, yes?”

“Yes, we are.” Luhan said, sounding surprised that Jongdae could pick up on that.

Sehun, who seemed to be too caught up in meeting EXO to worry if his questions were rude or not, jumped in almost before Luhan had finished his answer. “How could you tell?”

Jongdae had to laugh at the eagerness of Sehun. “I can smell the bond on you.”

Kyungsoo could indeed pick out their mingling scents if he tried since they were in a much more intimate space, though he was admittedly still focused on Jongin's scent. Sehun and Luhan, however, both looked completely shocked by that news. “Bonds have a smell?” Luhan asked, serious now.

It was Kyungsoo who jumped in to explain. “It’s not so much as a specific bond scent, it’s more like you can smell the scent of both wolves mingling and _infer_ that it’s a bond. Pack scents mix just a little bit, but mate scents tend to mix together so much that they can cease to be individual scents, making mates smell practically identical. No one has ever explained that to you before?”

“Both of our parent’s packs are really small. They haven’t really explained much. Sehun and I pick up what we can from other wolves our age, but we mostly figure it out on our own.” Luhan sounded small, probably embarrassed to have to admit that about their parent’s packs.

“It’s not uncommon." Jongdae told them kindly. "I remember being confused about a lot of things growing up in my parent’s pack. I didn’t even have a full grasp of pack dynamics when Suho found me and offered me a way out. We can teach you all we know if you’re interested.”

Sehun looked as if he might actually explode from excitement, gripping onto Luhan and beaming. “Lu?”

“If you wouldn’t mind helping us, we’d both be very appreciative.” Luhan said warmly.

Jongdae shook his head. “It’ll be no problem. We’ll probably be here for a while anyway, it’ll be good to have something to keep us busy.”

After many thank yous were given by the mated pair, Jongdae moved on to Jongin. “So, Jongin, how does a human like yourself end up in a room full of wolves?”

Jongin cleared his throat, sitting up a little straighter in his seat. Kyungsoo found himself mirroring Jongin's pose, caught up in every word even though he'd already heard Jongin's answer to this question. “My mom is good friends with Sehun’s family, so we grew up together.”

“That’s pretty interesting, most humans seem to keep their kids away from wolves.” Jongdae frowned, looking deep in thought.

“I guess my mom is a little eccentric. She told me that there isn’t a big difference between Sehun and me when we were little. I didn’t even realize our relationship was strange until we started school and other kids would tell us we were weird for hanging out with each other.”

“There isn’t a big difference between us at all, but prejudice lasts for a long time.” Jongdae murmured, distracted. There were a few moments of awkward silence before Jongdae continued. “Jongin, do you have any other wolf friends?”

Jongin shook his head. “No, just Sehun and Luhan.”

This seemed to confuse Jongdae further. “So there are no other wolves you’ve spent time with? No omegas?” Kyungsoo’s stomach flipped. So he wasn’t imagining the faint omega scent, it definitely existed.

“Just the omegas that go to school with us. But I’m not good friends with any of them.”

Jongdae threw an understanding glance towards Kyungsoo. “I see.” He said simply.

Suho’s arrival saved Jongdae from making any further small talk, the three newcomers standing up quickly as they heard the front door open. As Suho entered the room, Kyungsoo could feel the authoritative alpha presence rolling off of his pack leader, something that Suho felt he needed to do these days whenever faced with meeting new people. Kyungsoo personally felt it was overkill, but knew his alpha was just doing it out of concern for the pack's safety.

Kyungsoo could see Sehun and Luhan were struggling, he doubted the pair had ever come across an alpha with as much authority as Suho. Simply bowing their heads in a polite gesture, Kyungsoo let the wolves introduce themselves.

Jongin, Kyungsoo noticed, looked visibly uncomfortable, probably very unsure of what he should do in this situation. Kyungsoo stood and made his way to stand next to Jongin, wanting to ease that expression off of the boy's face. “Suho, this is Jongin.” Kyungsoo said when Sehun and Luhan finished, noticing the relieved expression Jongin shot at him.

Suho seemed surprised. “A human? Or… wait… Human, right?” Hearing even his alpha sound unsure about Jongin’s scent made Kyungsoo at least feel validated.

Jongin nodded, imitating Sehun and Luhan’s polite bows. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Jongin. Sehun, Luhan.” Suho said, nodding at each of them. “My name is Junmyeon, but I go by Suho. Welcome to the temporary home of EXO, please make yourselves comfortable. Kyungsoo, shall we speak in the other room for a moment?”

Reluctantly leaving Jongin and his two other new friends with Jongdae, Kyungsoo followed his alpha up the stairs to the room currently being used as Suho’s study. Shutting the door after Kyungsoo filed in, Suho leaned against it. “I’m sure your urgent matter is something to do with Jongin, yes?”

Kyungsoo nodded the affirmative. “You smelt it, too, didn’t you? The faint omega scent on him?”

“I did. It’s strange, I’ve never smelt anything like that before. It’s not like he spent time with an omega, the scent is coming from him, but he smells more human. It’s absolutely bizarre.”

Kyungsoo grimaced. “I’m about to make it even more bizarre.”

Suho stared at Kyungsoo, his eyes widening. “Oh, no, don’t tell me-“

“That Jongin is my mate?” Kyungsoo supplied, feeling the way saying those word out loud felt like flying.

Suho sighed. “Of _course_ he is. Things are never simple in this pack, are they?”

“You’ve never heard of something like this happening before?” Kyungsoo asked, the tone of Suho’s voice making him feel like he was suddenly falling rather than flying. He'd had hoped that Suho of all people would hold some magical, fix all answer, but Suho's expression was telling him a very different story.

“No, I haven’t. My guess would be that he is a hybrid of some sort, but that is impossible. Humans and wolves aren’t _supposed_ to be able to mate. It’s a fact that is recognized even by the Alpha Council.”

Kyungsoo was starting to feel sick. “If humans and wolves can’t mate, where did Jongin come from? My wolf is definitely recognizing Jongin as my mate, I don't understand how that would be possible if wasn't actually part wolf.”

“I just don't know, Kyungsoo. I’ll go to Kris, he may have more information than I do. We’ll go from there.” Kyungsoo tried to take in Suho’s words, but he felt like the air surrounding him was too thin.

Suho left his spot against the door, reaching out his hands to grip Kyungsoo’s shoulders comfortingly. “Listen, Kyungsoo. I know this is hard to hear, but until we find some kind of answers you need to understand that you can’t claim Jongin as your mate. It might be dangerous for him, we have nothing to go off of right now.”

Kyungsoo had a feeling he would have to wait to be with Jongin as actual mates the moment Jongin had referred to himself as human but hearing it from Suho made it real. Being unable to leave Jongin and unable to have him at the same time was going to be awful, he could feel his wolf growing impatient already. He knew Suho was right, though. Before today, Kyungsoo hadn't ever wondered why humans and wolves didn't mate, it was simply a fact ingrained into their society. But now the unknown and possibility of harm was too great of a risk for Kyungsoo to take with Jongin. His wolf instincts were definitely going to have to wait.

Opening the door, Kyungsoo let Suho lead him out into the hallway. “We’ll talk to the pack tonight and I’ll leave for the Alpha Council building first thing tomorrow morning, okay?"

Kyungsoo groaned, the thought of his entire pack knowing about his predicament making him cringe. “Do we have to talk to the pack about this? Can’t we keep it between us?”

Suho gave him a pitying look. “I understand why you want to keep this a secret, but I have a feeling that this is going to end up being much bigger than just our little pack. If I need to go to the Alpha Council, everyone needs to understand what’s going on.”

With a long sigh, Kyungsoo tried to wrap his mind around his reality as he followed Suho back down to the living room. He had finally found his mate, who was most likely a wolf/human hybrid that shouldn’t exist, and now his pack mates were going to tease him for eternity. Great.

Even with his wolf already pouting over the restrictions put on him and even with the thought of Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s reaction to this situation making Kyungsoo want to scream in frustration, he couldn’t help but return the smile Jongin gave him when he rejoined them in the living room. Maybe meeting his mate wasn’t going to be the fairy tale that he had always imagined for himself, but his story with Jongin was only just beginning. One way or another, Kyungsoo was going to make sure it had a happy ending for the both of them.


	6. Chapter 4

It wasn’t until Suho received a text from Chanyeol that he, Baekhyun, and Yixing were on their way back that Kyungsoo herded his new friends out of the door. He was reluctant to part with Jongin, but it was either say an early goodbye to his mate or chance Baekhyun and Chanyeol getting involved in the situation. Neither option felt fair, but at least Kyungsoo was in control this way.

Sehun gave Kyungsoo his address along with an open invitation, just in case he’d like to join them later. Apparently, it was common for Jongin and Luhan to spend most of their free time at Sehun’s house, playing video games or just enjoying each other’s company while working on class work. He really wished he could go with them, already surprisingly fond of not just Jongin, but the other two as well. However, he knew talking to his pack was the most important right now.

“Thank you so much for introducing us to your pack, Kyungsoo! I can’t believe we actually met EXO!” Sehun gushed as he climbed into the driver’s seat of his small black Honda.

Luhan shot Kyungsoo a knowing look. “Yes, thank you, Kyungsoo, for showing this one that you’re just like us. Maybe he’ll stop fangirling soon.”

Kyungsoo chuckled. “I hope he does before he meets Baekhyun. He’s already enough of a diva as it is without Sehun feeding his ego.”

Jongin lingered a little further away, waiting for Luhan to join Sehun in the car before saying his goodbyes. “It really did mean a lot to Sehun and Luhan both that you let them meet your pack.” He told Kyungsoo after Luhan had shut the passenger side door behind him. “They stress about belonging to a ‘real’ pack a lot these days, I think you helped eased a little of their anxiety.”

“Every pack is a real pack, they’ll start to see that. Even though EXO is starting to become really well known, we have our fair share of disagreements and problems. Maybe even more so now that people recognize our name. I’m glad we can help.” _Especially if helping means you’ll be around, too._

Jongin gave Kyungsoo a smile that made the alpha’s stomach flip. “Thanks for letting me tag along, too. I had fun and learned a lot, even if it doesn’t apply to me as a human.”

“You’re welcome any time, Jongin, human or not.” _More likely ‘not’…_

Kyungsoo watched Jongin climb into the back seat, growing anxious as Jongin’s scent disappeared. With one final wave at his two new friends and his (unaware) mate, Kyungsoo watched as they pulled away from the curb and disappeared down the street. Sighing, Kyungsoo made his way back inside, wanting nothing more than to get this pack meeting out of the way before his inner wolf become too irritated from the separation.

Kyungsoo only had about 10 minutes of quiet to sulk before the slamming of a car door outside announced Baekhyun’s arrival. Figuring the beta would search him out if he had a problem, he only buried his head further into the pillows.

True to form, only a few seconds later Kyungsoo heard the beta’s loud voice demanding to know where ‘that traitor’ was. Elephant footsteps proceeded to make their way up the stairs, leading Kyungsoo to conclude that he must be the traitor, but he didn’t quite understand how that made sense in this context.

“Kyungsoo!” the beta shouted as he forced the door open. “How could you do this to me?!”

Figuring if he ignored him long enough Baekhyun would disappear, Kyungsoo stayed still, staring at a patch of ceiling above him that kind of looked like an angry old woman if he squinted.

Baekhyun didn’t seem to get the hint, though, because it wasn’t long before he had situated himself not just on Kyungsoo’s bed, but _on_ Kyungsoo’s chest, making it difficult to breathe. “Kyungsoo, why didn’t you wait for me?”

“What the hell, Baekhyun! Get off me!” Kyungsoo gasped, trying to push the beta off.

Baekhyun was stubborn, grabbing Kyungsoo’s hands before they could make contact. “No! This is what you get for not waiting for me!” The beta bounced a few times, knocking the air that Kyungsoo had just barely managed to get back right out of his lungs again.

Kyungsoo tried using his knees to kick Baekhyun off, but it didn’t seem to even bother the beta. “God, Baek! Get off!”

"NO!"

Kyungsoo managed to roll both himself and Baekhyun off the bed and onto the floor. He was trying to pull Baekhyun into a headlock while the beta wailed about him being a dirty traitor as Suho appeared in the doorway.

“Um… I hate to break this up, but we need to have a pack meeting.” Suho said, folding his arms across his chest and watching the struggle with an amused expression.

Kyungsoo shoved the Baekhyun away and stood up quickly. Shooting a glare at the beta who was still pouting on the floor, he slid past Suho in the doorway and made his way down the stairs to where the rest of the pack was waiting. The living room area had two couches, the regular sized and the love seat, as well as a smaller arm chair in the corner. Kyungsoo was hoping to get the armchair, but to his displeasure it had already been claimed by Jongdae. With a huff, he chose the loveseat yet again across from the zoned out Yixing and smug looking Chanyeol on the larger couch.

“Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun whined immediately upon entering the room with Suho a few moments later. “Why didn’t you let your friends stay so I could meet them? When are you going to invite them again?”

With a sigh, Kyungsoo gave up trying to fight Baekhyun, deciding to give him an actual answer. “Sehun was totally fangirling over meeting the _famous_ pack EXO, so I felt that at this time your presence would have only exasperated that problem.” He snapped.

“At this time? So they’ll be other times?” Chanyeol jumped in, sounding excited.

Kyungsoo nodded, resigned. “The way circumstances stand, I’m positive you’ll meet them soon.”

Suho placed a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “I agree. I think we should have them around as often as possible, just in case.”

The concern in Suho’s voice took Kyungsoo by surprise, but before he could ask, Yixing asked the question that Kyungsoo was sure everyone was dying to know the answer to. “So did you find your mate or not?”

Receiving a small nod to go ahead with the information from Suho, Kyungsoo let himself sink even further into the loveseat. “Yes.” He said, his voice sounding sad even to his own ears. Kyungsoo met Jongdae’s eyes and knew he understood what that meant. Jongin, the human with the strange faint omega scent, was somehow the one meant for Kyungsoo. Jongdae’s eyes were full of a soft understanding and acceptance that made Kyungsoo a little braver, the task of telling his pack a little less burdensome.

He held up a hand when Chanyeol opened his mouth to speak. “I’ll explain.” He told his pack mates who hadn’t been around to meet his new friends. “Today at school, I am pretty sure I met every wolf on campus through having classes together or from them coming up and introducing themselves between classes. I didn’t think I’d find my mate at all, unless they had stayed home from school. I did meet a beta wolf, Sehun, who was really friendly and invited me to sit with him in our shared math class at the end of the day. Turns out, Sehun has a human best friend, which is kind of strange by itself, but…” Kyungsoo paused, bracing himself for probably intense reactions from the mated betas who listened to him speak too quietly. “Jongin smells mostly human, at first you’d think that’s all he was, but he also has a faint omega scent… so…”

“You mean your mate is human?” Chanyeol burst, voice high with surprise and disbelief. “How is that even possible?”

“And you said _we_ were the kinky ones.” Baekhyun chimed in. “I didn’t even know human fetishes were a thing.”

Suho cleared his throat and shook his head at Baekhyun, saving Kyungsoo from having to respond. “I think he must be a hybrid of a human and a wolf. I’ve never heard of it before, but there is no denying that he smells like both a human and an omega.” He said, focusing on the serious topic of conversation.

“Does that mean you can’t mate with him even though you’ve found him?” Yixing asked, sharing a perceptive glance with Suho, his voice soft and understanding. “That must be painful, Kyungsoo. I’m sorry.”

The loneliness was making Kyungsoo want to collapse in on himself, but he was trying to push it to the side. “We need to figure out how Jongin’s existence is possible first. It might be dangerous for him.” Kyungsoo muttered, not making eye contact with anyone. He wasn’t used to feeling this vulnerable.

“You’re sure he hasn’t just spent time with an omega recently and the scents just got muddled?” Chanyeol asked, still sounding shocked.

It was Jongdae who jumped in on Kyungsoo’s behalf this time. “I thought at first that that must be why I smelled an omega on him, but after spending a little more time around him, there’s no way. The scent is coming _from_ him, there is no separation between the human scent and the omega scent. The only way it’d be possible is if he was actually _mated_ to an omega, which is I assumed is impossible for a human. But really, what do we know anymore? It’s something you have to experience firsthand to understand, I think.”

Baekhyun nodded, seemingly taking Jongdae’s word for it. “Damn, Kyungsoo. Only you would be destined for someone you can’t have, huh?”

Kyungsoo wanted to scream or maybe punch something because Baekhyun was right. Hadn’t he wondered just a few days ago what kind of wolf would be destined for him? Not a full wolf at all, but a strange hybrid who would probably be freaked out if he ever found out he was supposed to be Kyungsoo’s mate. Fate was cruel.

“So, what is the plan, Suho?” Jongdae asked. “We can’t leave here without Jongin, it would definitely be detrimental to Kyungsoo and I’d bet Jongin would suffer as well, even if he is unaware.”

“I was planning on meeting with Kris to see if we can find any more information, but I need everyone to understand the severity of this situation first. Not only is Kyungsoo’s wellbeing on the line here, but do you know what the news of a hybrid would cause? There are packs on the outskirts of our seemingly peaceful society who are just waiting for news like this. They would definitely see it as an opportunity.”

“An opportunity for what, exactly?” Baekhyun asked.

“Imagine for a second a world where everyone knew hybrids were possible.” Suho began seriously, making eye contact with each of his pack members. “If Jongin is a representation, his scent is human unless you have time to really examine it. I’d also assume that wolves less practiced than us wouldn’t be able to pick up on it at all since Sehun and Luhan seem to have no idea. That’s perfect for invading the space of your enemies with them completely in the dark. We also have no idea if Jongin could phase into an actual wolf, if his strength is greater than a human’s or if he is more durable, but I’d assume he has capabilities outside of the average human standards. Having hybrids who are not only perfect for sneaking around, but also strong enough to do considerable damage would change the way pack disputes are settled.” Suho explained, his experience with pack politics shining through once again.

“Not only that but think about what getting a hybrid entails.” He continued, voice raising in volume as if to drive his point home. “You need it to be half human, so either you are enlisting the help of human women or more likely, you are forcing them into carrying that hybrid child. Relations with the humans would definitely decline if not be completely obliterated by actions like that.”

Kyungsoo’s anxiety was through the roof at this point, the consequences of Jongin’s existence hitting him like a ton of bricks. “We have to keep him a secret.” Kyungsoo managed to choke out. “It’s not safe for him.” If Suho was right, which of course he was, Jongin would be wanted by _everyone_.

Suho nodded, making eye contact with each of his pack members. “Our priority now is to keep Jongin safe. I find it hard to believe that he has gone this long without drawing any attention to himself, so we need to be cautious until we can gather a better understanding of where we stand. Lucky for us, Jongin’s best friends are interested in our pack. I think our plan needs to revolve around having Sehun, his mate Luhan, and Jongin over as much as possible. Sehun and Luhan need to learn how to fight anyway, since Jongin already trusts them they can act as a second defense if for some reason we can’t be there.”

“Do we tell Jongin?” Jongdae asked. “If we are going to be around him to keep him safe, shouldn’t he know that he is in danger in the first place?”

Kyungsoo shook his head, wide eyes meeting Suho’s in panic. “Please don’t scare him. Can’t we just keep him safe without him knowing?”

“I think we should see what Kris says before we decide anything.” Suho admitted slowly. “We need to establish some trust with Jongin, Sehun, and Luhan so that they’ll believe us if or more likely when the time does come, though.”

Yixing stood, dusting imaginary particles from his jeans. “Well then, you need to get packing, Suho. I’m assuming you’ll go in person?”

Suho nodded. “This is information that needs to be relayed in person. I don’t trust the phones. The Alpha Council may recognize Kris as the leader, but that doesn’t mean they trust him. The phones are probably tapped in some way. Jongdae, you’re coming with me.”

Jongdae seemed surprised. “Why? Shouldn’t I stay and help keep an eye on Jongin?”

“I have a feeling that I’ll need you to have my back. Besides, it will draw less attention if I bring you along. Alphas don’t usually visit the Alpha Council alone unless there is a Council meeting. Kyungsoo will be in charge of watching Jongin since he has his instincts on his side now, it should be sufficient.”

“What about Chanyeol and I? What should we do?” Baekhyun asked, tone serious. Kyungsoo was taken aback by the beta pair. He expected them to make fun of him, to not take the situation seriously at all because they never took _anything_ seriously. Baekhyun’s expression, however, told Kyungsoo a different story. They may not always get along, but at they were pack mates. Kyungsoo’s annoyance from the tantrum earlier melted away, leaving him feeling grateful.

“I want you and Chanyeol to be Kyungsoo’s back up and I’d like at least one of you to scout the area around the school and Jongin’s residence. If there is someone watching, we need to know. Other than that, I want you two to be in charge of showing Sehun and Luhan how to train their wolves. From what I gathered earlier, they don’t know very much about that stuff. I think they both have potential, but no guidance. You know how these small packs are.”

“Aye aye, captain.” Chanyeol said brightly, saluting their alpha. “You can count on us.”

Suho turned to look Kyungsoo in the eyes. “Trust your instincts while I’m away. If you ever feel like Jongin is in danger or even just needs your presence, get to his side.”

“I will.” Kyungsoo promised, unsure whether he could stay away from Jongin if he felt like he may need him anyway.

“This isn’t going to be easy for you, but I promise that we’ll figure it out.” Suho gave his youngest alpha a warm smile, ruffling his hair. Kyungsoo could only hope that he was right.

________________________________________

“That was absolutely unreal.” Sehun announced, laying sprawled out on the floor, a look of pure wonder plastered on his face.

Luhan chuckled, staring at his mate with the warmth he reserved just for him. “They were really nice. I wonder if they were serious about teaching us. To learn from EXO would actually be really cool. Rumor has it that that’s how they became strong, through a lot of really effective training.”

Jongin let Sehun and Luhan have their conversation alone while he sat quietly on the couch. He felt kind of strange still. Nothing compared to the flames from earlier or the electric current that woke him that morning. More like he was missing a part of his chest. It made him feel lonely.

It was probably close to half an hour later that Sehun sat up. “Jongin, are you okay? You looked really terrible at school, I was pretty worried.”

Jongin smiled, thankful for the concern. “I’m fine now. I don’t have any clue what that was today, but it stopped in calculus. I’ve been okay since then.”

Sehun took a moment to think about that. “Jongin, this might sound weird, but if you were a wolf that’d definitely be a textbook perfect example of finding a mate.”

If Jongin was honest with himself, he did really like having Kyungsoo around. In fact, he wished Kyungsoo was here with them right now. Maybe it’s because Kyungsoo talked to him so that Jongin wasn’t alone while Sehun and Luhan did their mate thing. It was nice to have someone paying attention again. But at the end of the day, no matter how much he enjoyed Kyungsoo’s presence it’s not like he could have a mate.

Jongin shrugged. “I’m just a human.” He wasn't sure why those words sounded so hollow to him.


	7. Chapter 5

Early the next morning, EXO stood behind their temporary house to say goodbye to their two head alphas. Already phased, Suho communicated to Yixing through their mate bond.

“He says it’ll take a most of the day to reach the council. Hopefully Kris will have time to see them today, but they might be there a few days if Kris is really busy. He says to phase and use the pack bond or call on his cell.” Yixing gave his wolf mate a hug, arms barely wrapping around wolf-Suho’s giant neck. “We’ll be fine, honey, don’t worry.”

After a few more ‘good lucks’ and ‘be safes’, Kyungsoo watched Suho’s large brown wolf form bound off into the trees, the dark grey wolf form of Jongdae following close behind.

It always felt kind of strange without their alpha present, their instincts set a little bit on edge by the lack of authoritative presence. Kyungsoo could use his rank to step into the leader role while Suho was away, but it never felt right to do that. Instead, Kyungsoo let Yixing lead him and the others back into the house, where he began to clean up after breakfast.

“Are you both going to go scout the area around the school today?” Yixing asked Chanyeol.

The giant nodded. “We’ll drop Kyungsoo off and then bring the car back here to phase. We are probably going to check out the local scene as well.”

“Don’t trespass on anyone else’s marked territory.” Yixing reminded the betas. “Kyungsoo, try and get Sehun, Luhan, and Jongin over for some training today.”

“Will do! Come on, Kyungsoo, let’s get a move on.” Baekhyun said, ushering the alpha to the SUV. “Don’t worry, Kyungsoo, if anyone is watching Jongin, we’ll find out.”

“Thank you, Baekhyun, Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo said with more feeling than he thought he’d ever used with the pair. “I really appreciate it.”

________________________________________

Sehun had made it to their history class before Kyungsoo and waved the alpha down as soon as he walked in the door. “Hey, Kyungsoo! Come sit by me today!”

Smiling at the beta, Kyungsoo made his way to the chair beside Sehun and shrugged his backpack off. “Thanks.”

“No problem! Hey, if you have some time before your next class, do you want to come eat lunch with us? We don’t have a big group, it’s just the three of us, so there is plenty of room for you if you’d like!”

Kyungsoo’s wolf was on edge, practically begging for the chance to see Jongin sooner than math. “Sure, Sehun. That would be nice.”

History passed by slowly. Kyungsoo already had an understanding of the chapter they were reading and discussing and with the promise of lunch with Jongin, Sehun, and Luhan, he was becoming restless.  
Kyungsoo sighed in relief when the bell finally rang, shoving his notebook back into his backpack and following Sehun out of the classroom. “The craziest thing happened this morning!” Sehun began, walking alongside Kyungsoo towards the cafeteria. “There was a bee in my earth science class and this one girl was literally freaking out. The professor resorted to chasing it around the room with a rolled up newspaper. I was laughing too hard to remember to record it on my phone for proof.”

Amused by the idea of a professor chasing a bee with a newspaper, Kyungsoo laughed with Sehun. “I believe you, don’t worry.”

“Lu won’t, though.” Sehun pouted. 

As they entered the cafeteria, Kyungsoo caught sight of the back of Jongin’s head, already sitting across from Luhan at a table near the wall. If Kyungsoo’s current form had a tail, it’d definitely be wagging right now. He was grateful to Yixing for packing him a lunch so that Kyungsoo could join Jongin at the table without having to go through any of the lines for food.

“Is it alright if I go sit?” Kyungsoo asked Sehun who was moving towards the line for pizza.

“Go ahead. Just leave me the spot next to Luhan, okay?” Sehun winked and Kyungsoo was happy to agree. If Sehun got the seat next to Luhan, Kyungsoo had the space next to Jongin.

“Hello, Luhan, Jongin.” Kyungsoo said when he was in ear shot of the table, giving the pair a wave.

“Hi, Kyungsoo!” Luhan waved back enthusiastically. “Joining us for lunch, I hope?”

Kyungsoo nodded, pulling the empty chair next to Jongin’s seat out. “Is it alright if I sit here?” He asked Jongin, finally making eye contact with his mate. His wolf hummed in satisfaction as Jongin nodded.  
“How are you today, Kyungsoo?” Jongin asked, still staring. The way his name sounded on Jongin’s lips made Kyungsoo’s stomach erupt in butterflies.

“Much better now.” Kyungsoo said honestly. “Today is easier than yesterday. You?”

Jongin smiled, the intensity of the butterflies increasing at the warmth smiling brought to Jongin’s face. “Same.”

When Sehun joined the group with his tray of pizza, he took over conversation, relaying the story of the bee in his first class to Jongin and Luhan as well as other funny things he’d come across that day. Kyungsoo laughed along with the rest but his attention was mostly on Jongin. When Jongin found something Sehun said funny, his laughter encouraged Kyungsoo’s more than Sehun’s stories.

Kyungsoo was disappointed when Luhan announced that they needed to get going to class, the time with Jongin too short for his liking. “Would you like to come over to my house again tonight?” Kyungsoo asked the group as they made their way out of the cafeteria together. “Baekhyun and Chanyeol are pretty pissed at me for not making you stay long enough to meet them yesterday. I think they are going to be training tonight if you’d like to jump in.”

Kyungsoo knew he had Sehun at the mention of training with EXO and Sehun was the only person it really mattered to convince. If Sehun wanted to go, both Luhan and Jongin would follow. Kyungsoo felt a little dirty for manipulating his delivery enough to make sure they would come, but it had to be done to keep Jongin safe.

True to form, Sehun looked as if he might explode from the excitement. Luhan, though not on the verge of literally bouncing off the walls, looked excited as well. Noticing Jongin’s smile fading a little bit, Kyungsoo turned towards him. “Jongin, you have to come, too, okay? We can do our math homework together while they train or something.”

Jongin’s smile returned full force. “Thanks, Kyungsoo.”

________________________________________

It hadn’t been even an hour since they had returned home from dropping Kyungsoo off at school to give Yixing the SUV before Chanyeol was being touchy again, but what was new? Batting his mate’s wandering hand away, Baekhyun kept his eyes on his phone, scrolling through his social media account. “Stop, Yeol, we have actual pack business to do today.”

Baekhyun didn’t have to look at his giant mate to know his expression had turned into a puppy dog pout. “But Baek, we’ll have the whole house to ourselves! How often does that happen, anyway? Yixing will only be shopping for a few hours, time’s wasting!”

Sighing, Baekhyun set his phone down. “We can’t, Chanyeol. Kyungsoo’s mate could be in danger. We need to do our part to keep our pack safe.” When Chanyeol’s pout hadn’t disappeared, Baekhyun leaned forward until his mouth was close enough to Chanyeol’s ear for him to be sure Chanyeol felt his breath. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.” He promised in a whisper, nipping at the larger beta’s earlobe.

With a shiver, Chanyeol finally gave in, moving towards the screen door to the backyard area. “You’d better. Come on, let’s get this over with.”

Baekhyun watched Chanyeol phase first, taking it at a run. One moment, Baek was watching Yeol’s lanky figure race out the door, the next moment a large black wolf was disappearing in the trees. Baek couldn’t help but smile, never unimpressed by his mate’s quickness to phase. Chanyeol was the fastest of all of them, his famous reaction king title even following him into wolf form.

Taking the time to make sure the door was shut tightly behind him, Baekhyun walked towards the trees Chanyeol had disappeared in to. Baekhyun’s training made it easy for him to tap into his inner wolf’s strength, the phase coming through his body as quickly as a shiver. Baekhyun used to hate phasing, the pain of letting your form rip apart to become something completely different was initially extremely unpleasant. It was only through a lot of encouragement from Chanyeol that Baekhyun could phase this easily now. The pain wasn’t even noticeable anymore.

_“Should we start over by the school?”_ Chanyeol asked, using their stronger mate bond link. Feeling Baekhyun’s confusion, Chanyeol explained. _“Jongdae and Suho are phased, too. Using the pack link would be a little crowded today.”_

Baekhyun agreed, running at a comfortable pace after Chanyeol. _“Wait up, let’s go together.”_

Spending time running in wolf form with Chanyeol was familiar, something Baekhyun truly enjoyed doing. The fresh air and free feeling loved by both betas made for plenty of happy memories, their pace set through countless adventures together. It’s the reason Suho almost always sent the pair on the scouting missions, knowing how much they enjoyed it and how in sync they had become.

The closer they got to the school, the more frequent Baekhyun picked up the scent of an unfamiliar alpha. Unsure if it was something they should worry about yet, Baekhyun tried not to feel concerned, waiting for Chanyeol to say something about it.

_“That alpha scent is crazy strong here.”_ Chanyeol said warily when they reached the patch of woods closest to the school building. _“Like, was here this morning strong.”_

_“Should we track it?”_ Baekhyun asked, sniffing the air. The scent was so strong here that it would be easy to follow, but the alpha scent seemed powerful. Suho and Jongdae’s links had disappeared a just a few minutes ago, leaving Baekhyun to believe they had made it to the Council already. If there was any sort of confrontation, they were on their own and Baekhyun really didn’t want that.

Chanyeol seemed to be on the same page. _“No, I think that is a bad idea. I think we should check out by that address Kyungsoo gave us. If we find the same scent, we’ll know if it’s something to worry about.”_

Kyungsoo had given them the address of his friend Sehun that morning. ”From what it sounds like, Jongin lives right down the road and spends most of his free time at Sehun’s house, anyway. This address should be sufficient to check it out.” He had told the betas in the car.

Baekhyun took the lead, sticking to the tree line for cover as he approached the town. They were lucky this town hadn’t experienced a lot of deforestation. It was almost too easy to find the right road, all without ever having to leave their leafy cover.

_“This is the right road, it’s down this way.”_ Baekhyun told Chanyeol. _“We’d have to leave the forest to go to the actual address. Should we check it out? This street doesn’t look very busy, I bet we can be sneaky enough.”_

Chanyeol didn’t join Baekhyun where he stood by the edge of the trees, instead he was wandering a little further ahead, around a couple more trees. _“Baek, come here.”_

Baekhyun knew there was something wrong by the tone Chanyeol was using, by the way he could sense that his mate was standing completely still. Baekhyun slowly made his way towards Chanyeol and it only a few steps to discover why the mood had become more serious. It was the same scent and it was just as strong as it was back at the school. Baekhyun looked at the row of houses, one house in particularly easy viewing distance.

_“How much do you want to bet that house is Kyungsoo’s mate’s?”_ Baekhyun asked, feeling dread pull at his stomach.

Chanyeol shook his big, wolf head slowly. _“That’s a sucker’s bet, honestly. Come on, let’s go home.”_

The run back to their temporary home was definitely not as fun as their run this morning. Baekhyun was hoping they wouldn’t have to worry about any other wolves, but he had a feeling that this alpha scent was going to become a very big deal, especially for Kyungsoo. Baekhyun couldn’t even imagine what the younger alpha must be going through, let alone how worried he’ll be when they tell him about the strange alpha scent. If Chanyeol were being watched by some crazy strong smelling alpha, Baekhyun knew he would flip his shit and he wasn’t even an alpha himself.

In his musings, Baekhyun had fallen a little bit behind Chanyeol, the larger black wolf taking powerful steps to get back to the house sooner. Suho and Jongdae couldn’t be reached via their pack link, which hopefully meant they were meeting with Kris. Baekhyun knew Chanyeol wanted to call Suho ASAP about what they had discovered. The alpha’s scent had changed the whole game.

Baekhyun jumped in surprise when he heard Chanyeol howl from ahead of him. _“Chanyeol!”_ Baekhyun broke out into a sprint, cursing himself for not staying on guard.

_“We have a huge problem.”_ Chanyeol said as Baekhyun broke through the trees where Chanyeol was waiting, teeth bared.

Just as Baekhyun was about to ask what the problem was, a deep breath in let him know the answer. Here in the clearing, just behind their guest house, was the alpha scent again, smelling as if he was here just moments before.

_“He knows.”_ Baekhyun choked out, the feeling of dread turning into one closer to panic. _“I have a really bad feeling about this, Yeol.”_

_“Me too.”_ Chanyeol’s voice was quiet. _“Phase back and call Suho. Tell him that I’ll fill him in on what we found through the pack link. If Suho doesn’t trust the phones, I don’t trust them either.”_

________________________________________

It was a couple minutes into his computer science class that Kyungsoo received the text from Chanyeol.

##### Yeol: Be careful, someone is watching.

It was as if all the oxygen in the room disappeared, Kyungsoo left struggling to keep breathing. If someone knew about Jongin, he was definitely in danger. His wolf growled, hackles raised, causing Kyungsoo’s skin to erupt in goosebumps. His instincts were screaming to hunt, to search and destroy the threat to his mate.

Rationally, he knew that was a bad idea. Kyungsoo couldn’t imagine that Baekhyun and Chanyeol knew anything more about the person watching than Kyungsoo did at that moment. They had no way of knowing how many people were in on the secret. Killing whoever was following Jongin wouldn’t make him any safer, it was an unnecessary risk to everyone.  
But oh, was it tempting.

Kyungsoo struggled to sit through the rest of his class, packing up and leaving the room at a walk almost fast enough to be considered a run as soon as the teacher dismissed them. Unluckily for him, the calculus room was all the way on the other side of the school, so he had to push his way through the crowds of students, anxiety building at how long it was taking him to get there. He just needed to be around Jongin now, as soon as his wolf knew he was alright it would be easier to breathe.

Kyungsoo caught Jongin’s scent as soon as he entered the classroom, the hybrid making his way to the table they had sat at yesterday just ahead of him. “Jongin!” Kyungsoo called, taking a last few quick steps to catch up.

Jongin stopped, turning around to face Kyungsoo. He was wearing a smile that quickly pulled into a frown at the sight of Kyungsoo’s panicked expression. “Kyungsoo, are you alright?” He asked, eyebrows pulling together.

Kyungsoo had calmed down a little now that Jongin was in sight, but his wolf instincts still felt pretty hyped up. Trying to smooth his face into a calm expression all the same, Kyungsoo shrugged. “I’m okay.” He said breathless from the race here. Now if he could just come up with a way to make sure Jongin would remain in his direct sight until they figured out a way to get rid of this threat, everything would be perfect.

Jongin didn’t seem convinced that Kyungsoo was okay but didn’t confront him on it. He just stood still and let Kyungsoo lead the way to the table. Kyungsoo pulled out the middle chair for Jongin, wanting to sit next to him without making him too uncomfortable. This way he’d have Sehun on his other side.

Jongin sat quietly. “Thank you.” He said to Kyungsoo as he sat on the chair to Jongin’s right. “Kyungsoo?” he asked when the alpha had finished pulling out his math notebook.

Kyungsoo’s stomach flipped, a sensation that wasn’t as pleasant as he remembered it being in his shaken-up state. “Yeah?”

Jongin seemed to second guess himself for a few moments, full lips pressed together in a slight pout, before continuing. “You can trust me with things that bother you if you need someone to listen. I’m really good at listening.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but smile at how adorable Jongin’s expression had been, even though he knew he couldn’t take Jongin up on that offer just yet. He was sure Jongin was a good listener, but he wasn’t ready to hear that he was being followed by a wolf with most likely ill intentions because he was a hybrid. Kyungsoo decided to just tell Jongin part of the truth. “I just heard some troubling news from a member of my pack. It made me anxious, but I’m okay.”

Jongin kept his eyes locked on Kyungsoo’s, helping ease the remainder of his wolf’s anxiety. “Should we come over another time?”

Kyungsoo shook his head quickly. “No, I still want all three of you to come over tonight. It’s nothing serious right now, just something my pack needs to keep an eye on.” He said, taking a deep breath of Jongin’s scent to continue to ease his prickly wolf instincts.

Jongin grimaced. “I wish I could help, but I don’t know anything about wolf things.”

Kyungsoo gave him the warmest smile he could manage. “You are helping, I feel much less anxious now. Thanks, Jongin.”

They sat in comfortable quiet, Jongin pulling out his math stuff as well, until Sehun entered the room. Kyungsoo could tell the Sehun noticed the change in seating from yesterday, but he didn’t say anything, taking the seat on Jongin’s other side as if it had always been that way.

“I’m really excited to come train with you tonight, Kyungsoo.” The beta said, sounding bubbly as usual. “Do you want to come in my car so Jongdae doesn’t have to pick you up again?”

Kyungsoo gave Sehun a thankful smile. “Actually, that would be great. Jongdae is out of town today and I think Yixing is using the car.”

“Jongdae is out of town?” Sehun asked curiously.

Kyungsoo nodded, seeing no reason to keep this information from them. “Yeah, he and Suho actually went down to the Alpha Council building this morning. They might be home tonight, but it all depends on how busy Kris is.”

Sehun had that fangirl expression on his face again. “You call the leader of the Alpha Council by his first name? Have you met him before?”

Kyungsoo forgot that that might seem strange to most wolves, he’d been on a first name basis with most of the members of the Council for a while now. “Kris is a nice guy, I’ve met him a few times. Back at home, Kris sometimes drops by to talk to Suho about politics. They are pretty close.”

“Wow. EXO really is something else.” Sehun said, sounding dazed.

Kyungsoo laughed. “Really, it’s all because Suho is really smart and nice to everyone. It’s probably more about being in the right place at the right time than talent.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Kyungsoo.” Jongin said from his place in the middle. “I’m sure you and the rest of EXO must have worked really hard to get to where you are now.”

Kyungsoo was taken aback by Jongin’s words, feeling slightly bashful, but was saved from coming up with a response by the professor calling the class to attention. Trying to pay attention to the material better than he’d be able to the day before, Kyungsoo pushed the warmth he felt from being near Jongin to the back of his mind to deal with later.

________________________________________

Jongin kept an eye on Kyungsoo as they made their way to Sehun’s car after calculus had finished. The shorter wolf seemed to be anxious again, eyes darting around more often than Jongin would call normal. It made Jongin wonder what he was really getting himself into by being involved with EXO. The wolf world never seemed dangerous to Jongin, but he’d only been exposed to it at the level Sehun was at. The fear in Kyungsoo’s expression made Jongin think the wolf world was much darker than he ever imagined.

Even with his worry about Kyungsoo’s fear, Jongin knew he wouldn’t be able to back out now. Something was holding him here. He’d like to think it was just his loyalty to Sehun as a friend and the fear of losing him now, but it was hard to shake the feeling that it might have more to do with Kyungsoo himself. Jongin couldn’t imagine not being around Kyungsoo anymore, which bothered him. He wasn’t exactly the kind of person who made friends easily and he’d only known Kyungsoo for a day. This kind of feeling wasn’t normal.

Still, Jongin couldn’t keep the smile off his face when Kyungsoo joined him in the backseat of Sehun’s car. Ever since Sehun and Luhan had gotten together, Jongin had been alone in the backseat. He didn’t realize how lonely he’d started feeling until he wasn’t alone anymore. Kyungsoo’s presence was beginning to feel like the salvation he never knew he needed.


	8. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW: There are brief mentions of abuse within this chapter**

Suho couldn’t help but jump when his phone buzzed loudly from the ankle strap he kept it on when he was traveling. He told the pack to call if there was an emergency, but he wasn’t actually expecting to get a call. Jongdae paused in his step, sensing that Suho himself had stopped walking.

Pulling out the phone quickly, Suho held up a finger to Jongdae as a signal to wait and immediately felt his stomach drop as he saw Baekhyun’s number on his screen. He knew that Baek and Chanyeol were scouting the area to make sure no one was following Jongin. This didn’t bode well at all.

“Baek.” Suho said shortly as way of greeting. He could hear labored breathing on the line.

“We have a problem.” Baekhyun said softly. “Chanyeol wants you to phase so he can fill you in.”

Suho sighed, scrunching up his face in slight distaste. “Give me two minutes, tops. I need to find a place to phase.” He hung up without a goodbye, looking around his surroundings to see if there was anywhere he could hide long enough to phase to wolf form and back quickly.

Jongdae quirked an eyebrow at him. “What’s up?”

“Baek and Yeol ran into a problem, I need to phase.”

“There was a pretty big alley way back there, if you’re quick I think we could get away with it. I’ll stand guard.” Jongdae said, pointing back a few shops to a small street.

And that’s how Suho found himself phasing very carefully in an alley, the way he was folding his body to fit looking comical if Jongdae’s chuckles were any indication. The things he does for his pack, seriously.

_“Suho, we’ve got a problem.”_ Chanyeol’s voice began immediately and Suho had to fight back another sigh.

_“Baek already said that, just tell me what’s up. I don’t have a lot of time, we’re in the city.”_

_“We checked the school and the street Kyungsoo told us Jongin lived on and ran into the same scent. A strong alpha scent.”_

_“That_ is _a problem. I knew us being the first to figure Jongin out was too good to be true.”_

_“That’s not the worst of it…”_ Chanyeol's tone was hesitant. _“When Baek and I came back to the house to call you, the scent is outside of our backdoor, too… he knew about us before we knew about him.”_

Suho gave himself a minute to process that. The idea of a strange alpha not only threatening Kyungsoo’s mate, but his entire pack by getting that close had the hackles on his back raising. _“Can you track it?”_

_“It’s definitely fresh enough, like today fresh, but do you really want us to? I don’t know if Baek and I can take an alpha this strong on our own if it comes to that.”_

If Suho had been there himself, getting the whole pack together to track the scent would have been tempting, but who knew for sure what would be waiting for them at the end of the trail? That was definitely a risk only worth taking with the whole pack involved, and even then it was maybe still too much of a risk. _“No, don’t track it. Let Yixing and Kyungsoo know we need to be on high alert. I’ll talk to Kris about it and when Jongdae and I get back we’ll figure out the safest course of action.”_

_“You want me to tell Kyungsoo? Won’t he like… freak out or something? You know how scary he gets when he’s angry.”_ Chanyeol sounded intimidated.

_“If I know Kyungsoo, he’ll want to make sure Jongin is safe above everything else, I doubt he’ll go running off to find the mystery alpha. Just make sure he waits for me to come back with news from Kris. Our original plan still stands, just proceed with caution.”_

_“Whatever you say, boss.”_

_“Call me if anything changes, though.”_ And with that, Suho phased back, glad to be rid of the claustrophobic feeling. This was exactly why he always refused Kris’s persuasions to move to the city to be closer to the Council. What place did a wolf have in a city this big?

Making sure everything was once again in place, Suho joined Jongdae back on the street where it looked like he was completely zoned out. “Earth to Jongdae! Hey, weren’t you supposed to be standing guard? What if someone walked too close?”

Jongdae didn’t give him much of a reaction, shrugging and leading the way back down the street. “No one came by, you’re fine you worry wort.”

Suho jogged to catch back up with him, feeling a bit put out by his dismissive behavior. “Aren’t you curious what that was all about?”

“I figured you would tell me if it was important.”

They were fairly close to the Council building already, Suho knew they didn’t have a lot of time to talk before they would need to act as if they were just stopping by for a friendly visit. “Chanyeol and Baekhyun came across the scent of a strong alpha at the school, on the road Jongin lives, and even in the backyard of the house we’re staying in.”

That got Jongdae’s attention, the alpha stopping in his tracks. “Why the hell would his scent be by our house?”

Suho shrugged, stopping as well. “Either he followed Jongin there when he came over yesterday, or he knew Baekhyun and Chanyeol would come across it. Judging by how fresh Chanyeol said the scent was, I’d assume the latter.”

“Well, shit.” Jongdae muttered, walking forward again. “Would this be a bad time to tell you that I think I’m about to meet my mate at the Council building?”

Suho resisted the urge to drop his face into his hands. “It’s always something with you wolves, isn’t it? Hybrids, strange alphas, mates... give me a break here.” They made eye contact for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

“At least you’ll never get bored with us, right?” Jongdae teased, the mood lightened considerably.

Suho couldn’t help but agree to that.

________________________________________

Baekhyun watched Chanyeol pace through the kitchen from his place at the small dining table. Neither of them had been able to relax after talking to Suho, too many unknowns kept the atmosphere tense. They both knew Kyungsoo was still coming with his new friends, but even the thought of embarrassing Kyungsoo in front of them wasn’t enough to brighten Baekhyun’s mood.

He just felt so guilty for getting complacent. It had been a few years since Baekhyun had felt so vulnerable, he seemed to have been under the impression that bad things couldn’t happen to them. They were _EXO_. No one could touch them.

But someone had just proved they _could_. They’d made it pretty clear that they were one step ahead, the strength of the scent in each location a sign that he had known where they’d be before Baekhyun and Chanyeol had known themselves. It made him feel sick.

“We should try and at least act like nothing is wrong.” Chanyeol said, voice soft from disuse. “I’m sure Kyungsoo wouldn’t appreciate us scaring his new friends.”

Baekhyun ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I know, I know. I just wish Suho was here. What if that alpha comes back while we’re trying to train those other wolves? Three of us might not be enough.”

“Well, Yixing should be on his way home soon, so that will make four of us.” Chanyeol mused aloud. “It would probably be easy to convince Kyungsoo to keep his new human boy toy in the house. I really don’t see it being a problem, though. If that alpha wanted to fight, I think he would’ve made a move by now. I think he just wanted to freak us out.”

“It’s working.” Baekhyun muttered, laying his head down on the table. “I can’t help but think that we’re in over our heads here, Yeol. It’s not like we’ve had a lot of fighting experience, we’re not from the Borderlands… What if I panic and someone gets hurt because I can’t pull my own weight?”

Chanyeol stopped his pacing, leaning down on the table and placing a comforting hand on the back of Baekhyun’s head. “Just because we’re not from the Borderlands doesn’t mean we can’t hold our own in a fight, I mean, look at Suho. He is one of the best around and he grew up in the same town as us. If you’re that worried, we’ll just have to train harder, won’t we?”

Baekhyun lifted his head at that, feeling the hope in Chanyeol’s words. This is what got them through, positivity and work ethic. “Maybe we could run through a few extra drills after we’re done with Kyungsoo’s wolf friends tonight?”

“You bet, Baek.” Chanyeol said, leaning his lanky body over the table to give Baekhyun a quick peck on the lips. “Just don’t forget you owe me some action for turning me down this morning.” He said teasingly with a wink.

“Pervert.” Baekhyun said, just as lighthearted. Trust his giant of a mate to make things feel okay again, seemingly just in time for Kyungsoo’s arrival if the crunching of rocks on the street outside was any indication.

________________________________________

Tao wanted to roll his eyes at the alpha who was making a scene in the lobby demanding to see Kris. “I’m sorry, sir, he is in a meeting. You can either try to come back tonight or schedule an appointment on a later date.” He tried to keep his tone level and professional, but it was hard when the alpha was swinging his arms around like a gorilla.

“Listen here, _omega_ , I need to see Kris and I need to see him now!” The alpha roared, his voice echoing in the ornate lobby.

Tao simply raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by his attempts to put Tao ‘in his place’. Tao had been working with alphas and their tempers for too long now to be intimidated. “I’m sorry, Kris is unavailable right now. Please don’t make me call security to escort you off the premises.”

Unsurprisingly, Tao did have to call security. Alphas didn’t like to be told no, it was a pretty universal truth. Tao always enjoyed watching the burly alpha security guards dragging people out, anyway. Gave Tao a little bit of excitement to his normally bland day as Alpha Council secretary.

The next few hours passed uneventfully, Tao answering phone calls and booking appointments, typing up and printing official documents for Kris to sign later tonight. When a familiar face walked through the lobby doors, Tao couldn’t keep in his squeal of excitement. “Suho and Jongdae! What a lovely surprise! Come to save me from my boredom?”

The alphas smiled back enthusiastically. “Anything for you, Tao.” Jongdae winked at him, causing the omega to giggle. 

“What brings you two to the Council? The next meeting isn’t for another six weeks.”

Suho’s smile turned apologetic. “I know Kris is busy and that we came unannounced, but I was wondering if he had some time to meet with me. It’s a matter that I didn’t feel comfortable discussing over the phone.”

Tao took a peak at Kris’s schedule. “I’m sorry, Suho, but he is completely booked today. Is it serious alpha business?”

Suho frowned. “It’s not so much serious alpha business, but I do think my pack has just found ourselves in the middle of some serious wolf-human relations business. I’m afraid that it is kind of urgent. Can you tell me when the next available time is?”

Tao knew that Kris was booked for at least the next week, but the expression on the pair of alpha’s faces had Tao bending the rules just a little bit. He had always liked EXO, anyway. “He’s really busy dealing with a pack that were caught omega farming out on the border, so he is pretty full. I’m sure if you wait, though, he’d take the time to see you.”

Suho seemed torn. “Would that really be okay?”

Tao waved a hand at him. “I’m inviting you, so yes. Kris is fed up with dealing with the borderland wolves anyway, seeing a friend would cheer him up.” When Suho’s eyes seemed to still be hesitant, Tao decided to take it one step further. Kris was his mate after all, he was positive Suho squeezing into the schedule today wouldn’t be a problem. “I’ll call Kris up just to make sure for you, okay?”

Suho gave Tao a grateful smile and made his way with Jongdae to sit in the large reception area on one of the large leather couches.

________________________________________

Kris felt sick. Sometimes he really hated being the head of the Council, especially when he had to deal with cases like this. Omega farming was forbidden, but no matter how harsh his punishments, a pack or two would be caught each year. This was the worst case Kris had seen in a long time, the omegas that were rescued on the verge of dying from starvation and covered in so many bruises that they looked naturally purple in complexion.

That’s why when he received a message from Tao to come up to the front desk, he all but leaped from his chair. He made his way to the lobby, wanting to cuddle up to Tao and get comfort from the omega, it was natural instinct after having to go over so many gruesome details. When Kris caught a familiar scent, however, he hastened his walk even more, curious as to why Suho and his second, Jongdae, would be here at the Council.

Tao greeted him with a large smile when he came through the door to the lobby. “Kris! Look who stopped by!”

Kris couldn’t help but smile, first at his mate’s enthusiasm, and then at Suho, one of his closest friends. “Suho! What brings you all the way out here?”

Suho had a torn expression on his face, half serious, half amused. “Well, the matter that brought me here originally isn’t one to be discussed in public, but Jongdae here has another reason apparently.”  
Kris, confused, turned his attention onto Jongdae who looked like a kid being forced to wait outside of a candy shop. “I think you’ve got my mate back there.” He said, tone full of wonder, expression pleading.

“Ah,” Kris said, understanding. “Well… wow, okay.” He only had one omega still in the building, one of the omegas from the farming who didn’t need the hospital like the others but didn’t have anywhere else to go yet. “It must be Minseok.”

“Minseok.” Jongdae repeated with a small nod, as if the name made sense out of the world.

Kris sighed, a small smile on his face. While it wasn’t in his agenda, he remembered how it felt right before he met Tao and couldn’t help but feel happy for the alpha. “Tao, will you take Jongdae to the back and explain the situation? Minseok might actually do better now if you introduce them but be sensitive about it. Suho, would you care to join me in my office?”

Suho followed Kris back through the doors he had just come through and down the hallway. Kris opened the door to his large, round office and let Suho go in before him, shutting the thick wooden door behind them with a loud click.

Making his way to his large leather chair, Kris gestured to the slightly smaller chair in front of his desk. “Please, sit. Make yourself comfortable.”

Suho sat in the chair, or actually, he perched. It seemed like the alpha was too keyed up about whatever had brought him here to let himself relax. “Thank you.” He said all the same, voice as kind and generous as Kris had remembered.

Kris sat down himself, mirroring Suho’s tense pose. “What has you so worried, my friend?”

Suho grimaced. “My pack may have stumbled upon something that completely changes everything I thought I knew about wolf and human relations.”

This had Kris’s attention. “I’m listening.”

“Kyungsoo, my third in command, felt his Pull recently. Our plan was to settle in the area just long enough for Kyungsoo to find his mate and leave, but we hit an… unexpected complication.” Suho seemed to be struggling on how to explain himself. “Kyungsoo found his mate, but he smells like both an omega _and_ a human.”

“That’s not possible.” Kris said, baffled.

Suho shook his head. “I thought so, too, but I can’t explain his scent. He smells like a human who has spent too much time with a wolf, except I can’t find any kind of break in the scents, they are _one scent_. And besides that point, how could Kyungsoo recognize a human as his mate unless he was somehow part wolf himself?”

Kris could see Suho’s logic, but still found it hard to believe there could be a human wolf hybrid. Everything their world was defined by said it was impossible. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before.” Kris admitted. “I’ll have to look into the archives to see if there are any cases like this on record, but I doubt it. You know as well as I do what this means for wolf society if this is true.”

Suho’s expression darkened at that. “An alpha is watching him, even going so far as to watching our temporary house. Jongin isn’t safe. Whatever he is, someone is interested in not just him, but seemingly in our involvement as well.”

Kris sat back in his chair, confused and admittedly upset by this news. “I think I need to come and see for myself.” He said after a few minutes of silence. “I’m in the middle of an omega farm train wreck or else I would come with you right now, but I think you need to head back and keep an eye on the situation. If there is an alpha going far enough to even stalk your house, your pack is in danger. I should be done with this situation here in about a week, maybe a little sooner. I’ll head out as soon as I can.”

Suho seemed to be relieved by that plan. “Thank you, Kris. I know you’re busy. Hopefully we will go without confrontation until you can come out.”

Kris stood and led the way to the door. “Of course, Suho. This is really serious stuff. I wouldn’t trust many packs to keep an eye on it by themselves, but I know you and your members can handle one alpha, even if he is strong. Just keep the human safe while I do some digging. We’ll go from there.”

Kris beckoned for Suho to follow him into the hallway. “As for Jongdae’s situation, I guess I should explain on my part.”

Suho followed behind curiously. “Yes, I’m assuming this will have something to do with the omega farming?”

Kris sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m afraid it does. Omega farming makes me feel ill as it is, but this current case is really bad. Not only were they abducting omegas and selling them into god knows what, they also were particularly cruel, holding back food and water as punishments as well as resorting to physical violence. A lot of those omegas were so damaged…” Kris tried to banish the images of the omegas as he found them, locked in a dirty cellar, too weak to even move.

“My alphas seem determined to give me a hard time with their mates.” Suho murmured. “First a hybrid, now an omega farm victim.”

Kris nodded. “A hard time, indeed. Although, Minseok was the strongest out of those rescued. He didn’t need hospitalization like the others, he wasn’t there long. Besides having some very understandable trust issues, he seems stable for now.”

They stopped in front of a plain door in an adjacent hallway. Kris knocked before entering, pushing the door open slowly just in case. You never knew how far wolves would go when meeting their mate, after all. Kris was lucky, finding Jongdae simply sitting next to Minseok on the bed, an arm wrapped comfortingly around the omega.

“Sorry to interrupt.” He said, smiling at the warmth that was seeming to return to the omega’s face. It was good to see him not deathly pale. “I just wanted to see where you’d like to go from here, Minseok?”

Minseok took a moment to look at Jongdae, as if for permission. The alpha shook his head slightly as if to remind him that he didn’t need permission. “It’s up to you, Minseok. Always up to you.”  
“I’d like to go with Jongdae.” The omega said in his quiet voice. “If that’s alright?”

Jongdae pulled the omega closer to him gently, hugging him close. “Of course it’s alright. Right, Kris? Suho?”

Kris nodded whole heartedly. “Wherever you’ll be happiest is where you should go. EXO is a very nice and strong pack, you’ll be safe there.”

Suho agreed as well. “Of course you’re welcome to come back with us. My name is Kim Junmyeon, but you can call me Suho. I’m the alpha of EXO. It’s nice to meet you, Minseok.”

“T-thank you.” The omega said shyly, turning into Jongdae.

Kris couldn’t help but smile, feeling good about this situation’s ending at least. “I’ll call a car for you, that way you won’t have to go back on foot. Suho, I’ll be in touch. I’d like to go make some phone calls and bump up some appointments. Maybe I can get this current situation dealt with sooner than a week. I’ll call when I’m on my way."

Suho gave a small bow. “Thank you so much, Kris. I really appreciate your help on this matter.”

Kris waved a hand. “Not at all, Suho. Thank you for coming to me. Tao will let you know when the car is ready to leave.”

After a few more thank yous from Jongdae and Minseok, Kris left the room, walking quickly to the front desk where he knew Tao would be waiting. He wanted nothing more than to pull his mate close and relax, it had been a long day, but that would have to wait until later tonight.

He decided he could at least spare the time for a hug, entering the lobby and pulling Tao close. “It looks like I’ll have to stay later than expected tonight, baby.” He said apologetically into his mate’s neck.  
Tao laughed, returning Kris’ hug with enthusiasm. “Do what you have to do, I don’t mind waiting.”

After breathing in Tao’s scent for just a few more moments, Kris pulled away. “Would you call a car for Suho? Minseok is going back with them and I don’t want him phasing just yet. Oh, and would you see if you can bump up all my appointments that have to do with the farming incident? I need to get that out of the way as soon as possible.”

Tao nodded, already turning to the computer to begin rearranging the appointments. “I’ll have it done and confirmed by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thank you, Tao, you’re wonderful. Really. The best Alpha Council secretary ever.”

Tao laughed loudly. “Don’t you forget it.”

Kris planted a swift kiss on Tao’s cheek. “I won’t. I’ll be back in the archives if you need me.”

Kris walked quickly to the furthest room in the east hallway, one he avoided where he could help it. He didn’t enjoy the archives, there was something rather creepy about the room. Their history was full of things darker than most wolves realized. Rituals, sacrifice, torture, the records of all of it kept as a reminder of how far they’d actually come as a society. Scanning the shelves, Kris searched, pushing his feelings to the side. It was going to be a long night.


	9. Jongdae Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of an additional scene since it didn't quite fit into the last chapter in the way I wanted to drive the story forward, but I simply couldn't help myself in the end and I wrote this little scene anyway. 
> 
> **TW: brief mentions of physical and sexual abuse**

Jongdae stood outside of the door, right hand trembling over the handle as he tried to catch his breath. He felt the Pull like a hook in his chest, dragging him ever forward. It had been like this for a while now, getting stronger by the day. He wasn’t surprised or taken off guard, in fact he felt confident that the person waiting on the other side of the door had been searching for him as much as Jongdae had been. They were mates, after all. There was just one thing holding him back…

_Omega farm victim._

Jongdae tried to keep the bile out of his throat, hands clenching into fists. He knew about ‘farming’ from Kyungsoo and from countless Council meetings. The fact that it was called farming always made Jongdae’s skin crawl, as if the omegas captured were nothing but food for harvest. Actually, food probably got better treatment than those poor omegas. Sold to whoever had money for sex, used as toys, forced to give pack leaders heirs, things Jongdae himself couldn’t even imagine doing to another wolf. A few years ago, there was even a case of packs buying omegas to use in a sick coming of age ritual where the omegas were used as bait to hunt and kill. The Council worked hard to cover it up at the time, the general wolf population had no idea how bad things still were on the border.

It hurt him to know that that is the kind of life his Minseok had lead.

_“Minseok has been through a lot. He is being incredibly strong even now, the amount of alpha scents in this building can be overwhelming. Just be careful. Don’t get excited and push him farther than he can go, okay?”_ Tao had said before leaving Jongdae alone in front of the door with an encouraging smile.

_But how can I be sure I’m not making things hard for him?_ Jongdae worried. What if his scent was too strong? For the first time, Jongdae wished he was a beta. If he wasn’t an alpha, he wouldn’t have to be so scared. His very presence could hurt his mate, it just wasn’t fair. His mate didn’t deserve this.

Jongdae couldn’t deny he felt a lot of anger, too. How dare those pathetic excuses for alphas touch his Minseok? What if he couldn’t control his anger and it scared Minseok? He wanted his mate to feel safe around him no matter what.

There was a quiet knocking sound suddenly, pulling Jongdae out of his head. He checked behind him to see if Tao was coming back down the hallway to check on him but found no one. Confused, Jongdae looked back to the door only to jump in surprise as he heard another slightly louder knock, seemingly coming from the other side.

Very tentatively, Jongdae used his fisted hand to gently knock back, a small smile forming on his face when the knock was returned almost immediately. Cute.

Jongdae stood frozen as the door started to slowly open, his heart pounding in his chest, all former thoughts forgotten. His eyes locked on a curious pair of round brown eyes set into the cutest face he had ever seen, beating out both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun easily.

“You’ve been standing out here for a long time.” His mate said, the sound of his voice sending butterflies into a frenzy in Jongdae’s stomach.

“Uh…” Jongdae replied stupidly, brain unable to form a sentence to reply.

“I’m Minseok.” He said with confidence, reaching out to grab Jongdae’s hand. “You’re my mate, right? You feel it too, right?”

Jongdae took a moment to appreciate Minseok’s hand clutching onto his own, the other’s skin soft and warm. Where Jongdae was scared to approach, Minseok was brave to run in head on. Mate, indeed.

Weaving Minseok’s fingers between his own, Jongdae smiled at him, previous worries forgotten for now. “Minseok,” he began, the name coming out like a prayer. “my name is Jongdae. I’m happy we’ve finally found each other.”


	10. Chapter 7

The car ride to the house was much too short in Kyungsoo’s opinion. Standing on the sidewalk leading to the front door had a feeling of dread settling in his stomach. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were being supportive, yes, but he still didn’t feel fully comfortable sharing Jongin with them yet. The only thing that kept Kyungsoo moving forward with this plan was knowing that Jongin needed the protection. That in mind, Kyungsoo kept a watchful eye out as he led the threesome to the front door.

“OUR KYUNGSOO HAS RETURNED!” Came Chanyeol’s loud voice as soon as Kyungsoo opened the door, causing him to cringe.

“Our baby!” Baekhyun cried, rounding the corner from the living room and launching himself onto Kyungsoo for a hug.

Kyungsoo struggled to shove Baekhyun off, glancing over his shoulder to see Sehun and Luhan’s amused expressions and Jongin’s wide eyes. He groaned, feeling the red spread on his cheeks.

Chanyeol joined them in the hallway, giant grin on his face. “Looks like our baby brought friends home.”

Baekhyun immediately released Kyungsoo, pushing past him and making his way to the trio still standing in the open doorway. “Hello, I’m Baekhyun! Thanks for putting up with Kyungsoo. I hope we can be friends as well.” He said brightly, reaching out to shake each of their hands enthusiastically.

“From what we’ve heard, we’ve got an alpha, beta, and human in our presence, is that so?” Chanyeol asked. “I’m Chanyeol, by the way.”

Seeing the look on his friend’s faces, Kyungsoo gestured to them in turn. “This is Sehun, his mate Luhan, and Jongin.” He tried to not point anyone out, but he noticed the longer stares Baekhyun and Chanyeol gave to Jongin.

Kyungsoo cleared his throat pointedly, glaring at his pack mates in turn. “Hey, Baek, Yeol, do you mind if Sehun and Luhan join your training tonight?”

Baekhyun reacted by grabbing Sehun and Luhan’s hands to pull them behind him. “Of course not! Let’s get started now, okay? Lots of training to do!”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, glad that Sehun and Luhan seemed amused instead of scared. “Are you staying inside?” Chanyeol asked, his tone suggesting Kyungsoo _should_ stay inside.  
He nodded, resituating his backpack on his shoulder for emphasis. “I think Jongin and I are going to work on homework together?” He finished his sentence as a question, feeling uncomfortable speaking for Jongin.

“Uh… yeah.” Jongin agreed, sounding shy. “It was nice to meet you both, though.”

“You too, kid!” Baekhyun yelled, still dragging Luhan and Sehun towards the backdoor. Chanyeol took one last glance at Jongin before smiling a huge grin and turning to follow Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo let out a sigh of relief when he heard the door shut behind them, leaving him alone with Jongin in the hallway. He tried to shove down the nervousness, but it was hard. “I guess we can study on the table.”

Jongin nodded in agreement, taking off his shoes politely by the door before allowing Kyungsoo to lead the way.

________________________________________

Sehun liked Baekhyun and Chanyeol immediately. They were a loud and goofy pair, like a comedy duo on TV. As Baekhyun pulled Sehun and Luhan into the backyard, however, Sehun began to feel apprehensive. It wasn’t every day you got to train with EXO. He really didn’t want to mess it up.

“Alright, kids, how comfortable are you with phasing?” Chanyeol asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet and giving Luhan and Sehun a searching look.

Luhan looked really uncomfortable with that question and Sehun couldn’t help but feel guilty. “We only phase on full moons.” Luhan admitted. “And even then, it’s not often.”

Sehun knew he was the reason they didn’t phase often anymore. He hated the feeling of loss of control it gave him. He was Sehun in his normal form, but in wolf form he didn’t know how to define himself. It made him feel icky.

Luhan’s answer didn’t seem to surprise the older wolves. Baekhyun nodded, understanding. “I used to _hate_ phasing, the pain I felt going through the transformation totally wasn’t worth it to me. But I’ll slap some truth on you now, being comfortable and quick at phasing is what makes the difference between a strong wolf and a wolf who spends his whole life in a small pack.”

“We’re not knocking that lifestyle at all.” Chanyeol cut in. “But if you’re interested in EXO or any other pack like ours, you need to be comfortable phasing. That’s just how it is.”

Baekhyun clapped his hands together and gave them a smile. “So, for me it was the pain of my transformation. What’s your reason?”

Sehun raised a tentative hand. “We don’t phase often because of me.” He admitted, feeling small. “I don’t feel like myself in wolf form, it feels wrong.”

“That’s actually really common for betas to feel.” Chanyeol said gently. “As wolves, we have two parts, yeah? Our ‘human’ reasoning and our ‘wolf’ instincts. Alpha and omega wolves have much stronger instincts, so it’s easier for them to distinguish the difference between those two parts. When they phase, they are obviously giving control to their instincts. Beta wolf instincts tend to be almost identical to the human reasoning half, if that makes sense.”

“Because your two ‘parts’ are so similar, phasing will feel slightly off until you, you know… wine and dine your wolf some.” Baekhyun added.

Sehun tried to absorb that information, but Luhan was one step ahead of him, as usual. “So how does he do that?” Luhan asked.

Chanyeol gave Sehun a small, sad smile. “There is no catch all trick, it just comes with time and a lot of practice.”

“You have to really focus on knowing yourself in both forms. In time, you’ll be able to feel the differences.” Baekhyun added. “For me, my human side is much more playful where my wolf side tends to take things a little more seriously. Once you find a difference, it’s easy to acquaint yourself with your inner wolf.”

“So I just need to practice phasing while trying to notice the differences between human me and wolf me?” Sehun tried, feeling hesitant in his understanding.

Baekhyun nodded enthusiastically. “Bingo.”

Luhan shook his head slowly. “That’s so weird, Sehunnie. I never even thought that you might not have obvious differences between your wolf and yourself. My wolf is really possessive and _alpha-ish_ , I guess. Not like me at all.”

Sehun felt a little bitter at that. Luhan was stronger than he was, Sehun had always known that, but now it made sense why. Being a beta was frustrating, things obviously weren’t going to come easily for him. It was easy to feel jealous of Luhan. Luhan wasn’t going to have to work as hard as Sehun was to reach the same outcome.

A bit of what Sehun was thinking must have shown on his face, because Baekhyun came over and placed an understanding arm around him. “You don’t need to pout, you’ll be stronger because of it. Chanyeol here actually is the fastest wolf I’ve ever seen phase, faster than any of those wolves with ‘natural talent’. We understand what hard work means _because_ it doesn’t come easy for us.”

Chanyeol took a few steps backwards, towards the tree line along the far side of the yard. “I’ll give you a demonstration, then I wanna see what you can do, alright?” The tall beta said, sounding extra cocky. Instead of phasing where he stood like Sehun had expected, Chanyeol started sprinting away from them parallel to the line of trees. In the middle of a particularly long stride, his form exploded. Sehun expected a big bang, it happened so quickly, but the only sound that resulted was the heavier sound of Chanyeol’s paws making contact with the ground. Sehun felt his mouth drop open. He had never seen anyone phase that quickly in his life.

“Show off.” Baekhyun shot at him, the black wolf form of Chanyeol giving them all a wide mouthed grin. “Alright, Luhan, go for it.”

________________________________________

Jongin sat at the dining table across from Kyungsoo, taking a peak out the glass doors where he could see Sehun and Luhan talking to the other members of Kyungsoo’s pack, Baekhyun and Chanyeol.  
“Do you want to go watch?” Kyungsoo asked suddenly, peering up at Jongin from the textbook he was reading.

Jongin jumped, startled that Kyungsoo had noticed his distraction. “Um… I think I’m okay in here.” Jongin wasn’t quite sure what ‘training’ entailed exactly, but he didn’t really want to be in the way of Baekhyun and Chanyeol. They had stared at him funny when he arrived, like they were trying to size him up. It made him feel uneasy.

Jongin tried to go back to his homework but was having a hard time concentrating. He kept wanting to watch the way Kyungsoo’s expressions would change slightly as he read his textbook or check on how Sehun and Luhan were doing outside. In the ten minutes they had been sitting there, Jongin had only written two sentences of the paper he was supposed to be working on.

Taking another peak out of the glass, Jongin couldn’t help but let out a gasp as he saw that it wasn’t the four boys in the yard anymore, but two boys and two very _large_ wolves, more the size of bears than the pictures of actual wolves Jongin had seen.

Kyungsoo’s head snapped up. “What?” He asked, sounding anxious.

Jongin simply pointed out of the window. “I’ve never seen a wolf in actual wolf form before.” He admitted, embarrassed. “I was surprised, they are a lot bigger than I’d expected.”

Kyungsoo took a peak outside, face relaxing. “Ah, they’ve started.”

There was no way Jongin could go back to working on homework now, he was a too curious. Along with Baekhyun and Sehun, there were two wolves outside, a black wolf and a blond colored wolf who was slightly bigger in size. “Who is who?” he asked Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo craned his neck to see out the glass a little better. “The black wolf is Chanyeol, so the lighter one must be Luhan.”

Jongin nodded, filing that information for later. “Are you as big as Chanyeol when you turn wolf?”

Kyungsoo smiled at him. “It’s called phasing, but yes. I’m actually a bit bigger than Chanyeol.”

Jongin stared at Kyungsoo’s smaller frame, trying to imagine him turning into a wolf even bigger than the one he was seeing outside. It was hard to imagine. “Does it hurt?”

Kyungsoo’s smile slid off his face a little bit. “It can, but the more you practice the easier it becomes. The more in tune you are with your instincts, the easier it is as well.” Kyungsoo pointed out the glass door. “Watch, it looks like Sehun’s phasing.”

Jongin turned around in his chair, surprised that he could see the shivers running through Sehun’s body even from where he was sitting. Jongin had to blink a few times when it looked like Sehun’s form became blurry, and after a few seconds Jongin wasn’t looking at his best friend anymore, but a grey wolf about the size of wolf-Chanyeol. “Wow.”

Kyungsoo hissed through his teeth. “He is pretty slow, that was probably painful.”

If the time it took Sehun to phase was considered slow, Jongin was honestly having a hard time imagining what a normal speed to phase was. For someone who was known as the freak with the wolf best friend, he was realizing that he really didn’t know even the basics. And for the first time ever, Jongin really did want to know more. Something about being around Kyungsoo and his pack was bringing out a thirst for knowledge that he had never felt before. “How fast can you phase?” he asked.

Kyungsoo seemed a little taken aback by that, but his expression quickly turned playful. “Would you like me to show you, Jongin?”

The delighted eagerness that seemed to be making its first appearance on Kyungsoo’s face disarmed any reservations Jongin held. He found himself nodding, setting down his pencil and following the shorter male out of the back door.

Jongin wasn’t extraordinarily tall by any means, but he was used to being on the bigger side compared to the people around him on a day to day basis. Standing in the small grassy area behind EXO’s temporary house with three bear sized wolves left him feeling smaller than he had felt since he was a child. He tried to imitate the confident air Kyungsoo had approaching the wolves, but it was hard to resist the temptation to reach out and grab the shorter one’s hand for a bit of comfort.

“Ah, has Kyunggie come out to play, too?” Baekhyun asked in a sing song voice as Chanyeol lead the other wolves further away to give Jongin and Kyungsoo some room.

Kyungsoo ignored Baekhyun, turning around to beckon Jongin to his side instead. “Stay right here next to Baekhyun, okay? Baek, don’t phase.”

Jongin had expected Baekhyun to protest in some way based on how playful the older seemed, but Baekhyun surprised him by simply nodding and scooting a bit closer. “Is he going to show off for you?” When Jongin couldn’t figure out a proper response, he only laughed good naturedly. “You’re lucky if he is, it’s not every day that Kyungsoo phases.”

Jongin saw Kyungsoo rolling his eyes before turning towards wolf-Chanyeol, wolf-Sehun, and wolf-Luhan. “I’m going to phase just to show Jongin, you can keep doing what you were doing. I’ll send Baekhyun after in just a second.”

The large black wolf seemed to give Kyungsoo a lopsided grin before turning and running off into the trees, Sehun and Luhan hesitating just a few moments before following him. “Where are they going?” Jongin couldn’t help but ask after Sehun threw him one last glance before disappearing into the foliage.

“We’re going to see how well they respond to some more pack-oriented formations, test out their tracking abilities and whatnot. The stuff we practice together as a pack when we’re all phased.” Baekhyun answered. “Wolfy stuff.” His face broke out into a huge grin that made the corners of Jongin’s lips pull up slightly in response.

Jongin’s attention was drawn back to Kyungsoo as he began swinging his arms to warm them up. “I’m an alpha wolf.” Kyungsoo began, still moving his arms. “It’s fairly easy for me to shift compared to an omega or a beta wolf. Basically, I just focus on giving control over to my instincts and I’ll phase.”

Trying not to get distracted by the muscles flexing in Kyungsoo’s arms that he never noticed before this point, Jongin thought over what Kyungsoo had said, pleased that Kyungsoo seemed to be indulging the curiosity he hadn’t voiced yet. “Is that scary to give control over to instinct?”

“It can be if you aren’t prepared for it, but it’s not like you become a whole different person. You’re still you, just a more primal version, and it really only lasts for the few seconds it takes to phase. In wolf form, all of those instincts are much stronger, but you still have choices.” Kyungsoo was done with his arms and had moved on to shaking out his legs.

Baekhyun, who up to this point had just stood with his arms crossed next to Jongin staring off into space, cleared his throat. “Chanyeol is wondering what’s taking me so long, he wonders if you’ve lost your touch, Soo.”

Jongin heard Kyungsoo make a low sound in the back of his throat. “Okay, okay. Jongin?”

“Yes?”

Kyungsoo gave him a shy little smile, one that made the male look so cute Jongin felt the ghost of a blush form on his cheeks. “Don’t blink.”

Jongin focused on holding his eyes open as he stared at Kyungsoo’s smaller frame. The alpha had backed up quite a way from him and Baekhyun at this point and was standing so still it was if he had been frozen. The cute smile had disappeared and was replaced by a peaceful expression, his large eyes closed and relaxed.

It happened in the fraction of a second between Jongin’s breaths. One moment he was staring at a peaceful Kyungsoo and the next, the entire space around the alpha was taken up by a very large auburn wolf-bear. Unlike when Sehun had phased, there was no time to watch Kyungsoo’s human form blur out. It was if human Kyungsoo never existed in the first place. Jongin couldn’t stop the hitch in his breathing at how suddenly it had happened.

Baekhyun chuckled, no doubt hearing Jongin’s breath stutter. “Pretty impressive, isn’t he? Chanyeol is even faster, though.” Jongin could hear the pride in Baekhyun’s tone, but had a hard time imagining anything possibly being quicker than that.

Kyungsoo hadn’t been kidding about being bigger, either. He had only been around wolf-Chanyeol for just a little while but could already see that wolf-Kyungsoo was bigger and a lot more intimidating. It was strange to think that the small body Jongin had just been staring at just morphed into something _this_ huge.

“What do you think, human? Are you freaked out yet?” Baekhyun asked in a light tone when Jongin hadn’t said anything for almost a full minute.

Jongin gave it a second of thought before answering. “I’m not freaked out, just in awe, I guess. All this time I’ve been around wolves and never really thought about how crazy it is that you can become something completely different in appearance so quickly. I feel pretty lame as just a human.”

Baekhyun gave him a funny look, one that reminded Jongin of the way his mother’s eyes would crinkle when he suspected she was hiding something. “You’re not lame, Jongin. Just not the same as we are.” He said, tone surprisingly gentle.

“Thanks.” Jongin replied quietly, letting his eyes travel back to wolf-Kyungsoo, who was now sitting on the ground like some comically giant dog, giving Jongin a questioning stare. “Can I get closer?” He asked Baekhyun without looking away.

“Go for it, kid. It’s not like he’s going to hurt you.”

He had loved dogs for as long as he could remember and had had a habit of running full speed at any dog he saw to pet it. After one bad experience around age five where he approached a black lab a bit too quickly and walked away with a bleeding hand and tear stained cheeks, he had learned to move slower. Wolf-Kyungsoo seemed to pick up on the hesitation and lowered himself even further until he was laying all the way down, tongue lolling out in a wolfy grin as if to tell him he had nothing to worry about.

Standing directly in front of wolf-Kyungsoo made Jongin feel like a little kid again and as he reached a hand out to touch the side of Kyungsoo’s face, he couldn’t stop the grin from making its way across his own face. Kyungsoo’s auburn fur was soft and long enough to give him good cover while not being shaggy. It was a pleasing texture, a familiar one that brought Jongin all the way back to his childhood when he would beg his mom for a dog every other day.

“I really love dogs.” Jongin admitted, still petting Kyungsoo’s fur, and the ridiculousness of that statement caused him to burst into laughter, the deep belly laugh that only came up when Jongin was at ease. Jongin stared into wolf-Kyungsoo’s big expressive eyes and could see the amusement there, even if Kyungsoo couldn’t laugh outright with him and it only made Jongin laugh harder.

“Um…” Baekhyun said next to Jongin, causing him to jump in surprise. He hadn’t heard the other join them. “I’m sorry to interrupt whatever is so funny, but are you going to phase back now, Kyungsoo? Chanyeol is waiting for me to start doing some drills.” Baekhyun said, sounding a bit irritated now.

Wolf-Kyungsoo gave Jongin’s hand a lick, a sensation that would have been pleasant if Kyungsoo’s tongue wasn’t so big. It got Jongin laughing again as he shook his hand to rid it of some of the access slobber. “Eww, Kyungsoo!” He complained between chuckles.

Kyungsoo made a noise in the back of this throat to show his amusement before standing, dwarfing Jongin and Baekhyun, and making his way to the tree line.

Jongin was confused watching his giant figure walk away. “Where is he going? Did I offend him?”

Baekhyun shook his head. “No, it’s nothing like that. He’s just going to phase back. Because he had clothes on when he phased, he needs to make sure he is still covered. Usually clothes can make it through okay, but Kyungsoo is pretty shy and likes to make sure nothing ripped.”

“Baek, you can go ahead. Thank you.” Kyungsoo called, jogging back from the trees in human form again.

Baekhyun nodded to Jongin. “I’m glad we got to talk a little more, kid. I’ll see you around!”

As Kyungsoo reached where he was still standing, Jongin watched Baekhyun blur into a smaller yellow-blonde wolf, taking off on a powerful bound into the trees towards where Sehun, Luhan, and Chanyeol must have been.

“Sorry for licking you.” Kyungsoo said a little breathlessly, leading the way back into the house.

Jongin simply reached out the hand Kyungsoo had licked and wiped it on Kyungsoo’s shirt with a grin. “Thanks for showing me.”

________________________________________

_“How much longer do you expect me to wait? I’ve fulfilled my part of this deal perfectly, I don’t understand what the hold up is.”_

The alpha sighed, tapping his fingers on the table he was situated at in annoyance. “We need to make sure that we are prepared for any situation. We were waiting for a mate to show up, yes, but we weren’t really expecting a pack like EXO to become involved.”

_“Lap dogs to the Council… you really think you can be threatened by them? You can take the boy now, I really doubt EXO would be a problem.”_

“You will follow orders or the deal is off, do you understand? When we are ready for him, we’ll take him. Not one second before. Keep suspicions low and wait for us to contact you.”

_“Alright, I understand.”_

He pressed the end call button hastily, trying not to let his annoyance get the best of him. When his pack leader passed this duty onto him, he hadn’t anticipated how stressful it would become. After 20 long years of waiting and watching, he wasn’t about to let EXO or anyone else ruin this.


	11. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW: brief violence in the first scene**

_“You are a pathetic excuse for an alpha.” The wolf whispered in a low tone. “Are you really so stupid that I need to spell out for you what being an alpha means?”_

_Kyungsoo’s stomach dropped as a sinister glint appeared in the wolf’s eyes, lips curving up into an evil smirk. He advanced on the small omega female slowly, Kyungsoo knew he must be taking enjoyment in the way she cowered on the ground. The air smelled of fear and sick glee, it made Kyungsoo’s stomach churn unpleasantly._

_He couldn’t bring himself to move as he watched the wolf grab the omega’s hair tightly in his fist, yanking it back sharply to expose the neck of the omega, her eyes squeezed shut in fear, tears shining on her cheeks. “Betas, omegas, humans, they are all just play things.” The wolf sneered, shaking the omega’s head just enough to cause her to gasp in pain. “It’s that simple.”_

_“Stop…” Kyungsoo whispered, not wanting to see anymore, bile beginning to burn in his throat._

_His plea falls on deaf ears and Kyungsoo closes his eyes tightly as he sees the wolf lunge forward, sharp teeth set to clamp down onto the omega’s neck. Her scream of agony makes Kyungsoo’s body shiver, the helplessness of the situation spurring the sting of unshed tears in his eyes._

_“That is what it means to be alpha, son.”_

Kyungsoo bolted upright with a gasp, hand flying to clasp the soft material of his shirt over his rapidly beating heart. It had been almost a year since that last time he had that nightmare, yet his stomach was rolling just as unpleasantly as the first time. He couldn’t stop the shaky sigh from escaping, knowing there was no way he could fall back asleep now. It had taken hours to calm his mind enough for sleep to begin with, that wasn’t even taking in to account the fact that he had moved to the uncomfortable couch now.

Kyungsoo couldn’t blame Jongdae for kicking him out of the room, nor could he blame the new omega addition to the pack, Minseok. How could he even entertain of being upset after seeing the scared expression on Minseok’s face as Jongdae awkwardly explained Minseok was a recently rescued omega farm victim? The return of Kyungsoo’s nightmare left nothing to the imagination of what that experience may have entailed for Minseok. If giving up his bed helped his new pack mate adjust, he would do so gladly.

Not that Kyungsoo had been making great use of said couch to sleep, anyway. Friday night after Baekhyun and Chanyeol couldn’t justify keeping Sehun and Luhan busy training any longer, Kyungsoo couldn’t bear to simply leave Jongin out of his sight for too long. He only stayed long enough to wait for Suho’s return and Minseok’s brief introduction before forcing Baekhyun to show him each of the places him and Chanyeol had found the unfamiliar alpha’s scent.

He spent Friday night, Saturday, and Saturday night in wolf form keeping an eye on the house that must be Jongin’s, trying to ignore his wolf instincts to hunt every time the wind stirred up the scent of Jongin’s predator from around him. He only returned to his temporary home to eat and shower, opting to phase again and return to his post in the tree line, close enough to Jongin to stop his longing emotions from consuming him, but still far enough to be frustrated at the distance.

Kyungsoo was only in his current state on the couch at Suho’s request. The alpha had asked him to stay under the guise of helping Minseok get used to his scent, but Kyungsoo had a strong feeling his pack mates were worried for him as well. It’s not like he could hide the darkness of the bags under his eyes from Yixing’s ever watchful eyes and Suho already knew how much Kyungsoo hated spending long amounts of time phased.

However, now that Kyungsoo didn’t want to go back to sleep for fear of reliving his old nightmare again, he didn’t see why he shouldn’t return to the tree line by Jongin’s house. He folded the blanket he had been using quickly to drape it over the arm rest and quietly left the house through the back door.

________________________________________

Jongin was bored, picking at the food in front of him while he slowly chewed. Luhan sat across from him as usual, but they didn’t talk much when Sehun wasn’t around. They got along fine and they were becoming good friends, but Jongin couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated by Luhan when they were alone. It was just another Monday, another sandwich that was slightly too dry, another day of lectures that he didn’t quite care about.

Except it wasn’t just another Monday, Jongin remembered as the chair next to him was pulled away from the table. This was the first Monday Kyungsoo was here, the first Monday Jongin wasn’t going to be sitting alone on his side of the table. He swallowed the food he had been chewing, turning to smile at his new friend.

As their eyes met, however, Jongin felt his smile fade. The alpha wolf had deep purple circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept since the last time Jongin had seen him. The smile Kyungsoo gave in return wasn’t even close to reaching his eyes and Jongin could practically feel the relief radiating off the wolf as Kyungsoo sunk into the chair next to him and slumped so his head rested on the table.

“Are you okay, Kyungsoo?” Jongin heard Luhan ask before he had the chance to himself. He was relieved when Kyungsoo mumbled that he was just tired.

When Jongin could tell Luhan was going to ask more, Jongin did something he knew was slightly out of character for him. He gave his friend a small shake of the head, holding a finger to his lips to keep him from bothering Kyungsoo who had already allowed his eyes to close. Luhan raised his eyebrows at him questioningly, but simply returned to eating his sandwich.

Jongin relaxed in his seat, glancing back to Kyungsoo. His face was turned in his direction and Jongin noticed that Kyungsoo’s heart shaped lips had parted slightly, making Kyungsoo look much younger. When Kyungsoo was awake, he gave off an air that made Jongin want to look up to him, but seeing his new friend looking so young and vulnerable, Jongin felt a strange urge to protect him. If that meant keeping Luhan from waking him back up, Jongin would do it happily.

“Hey,” Sehun’s voice interrupted Jongin’s thoughts with a start as he pulled out the chair next to Luhan with a grating scraping sound on the linoleum flooring.

“Shhh!” Jongin chastised his Sehun quickly with a glare before turning abruptly back to Kyungsoo. Luckily, the wolf’s face hadn’t moved an inch, lips still parted, fast asleep.

“Woah, Jongin, sorry.” Sehun stage whispered sarcastically.

Jongin shrugged, tearing his eyes away from Kyungsoo’s face. “He looks really tired.” He whispered, feeling a little guilty for glaring at his friend. “I just thought we should let him sleep.”

Luhan threw an arm around his mate, side hugging him in greeting. “Jongin is right, Kyungsoo kind of looks like he is about to pass out from exhaustion anyway. We should let him sleep if he can, right?”

Sehun sighed, taking a bite of his pizza. “I guess. I wonder what kept him from sleeping? He seemed completely fine Friday.”

Jongin went back to his food, blocking out the hushed tones of Sehun and Luhan talking about who knows what. He had to agree with Sehun, Kyungsoo had looked fine on Friday. Well, now that he was thinking about it, Kyungsoo had looked panicked about something when he got to calculus that day…

_“I just heard some troubling news from a member of my pack. It’s nothing serious right now, just something my pack needs to keep an eye on.”_ Kyungsoo had said then. Jongin wondered if whatever his pack needed to keep an eye on was the reason for the bags under Kyungsoo’s eyes.

“Hey, guys?” Jongin whispered after a few minutes. “Is being involved with the Alpha Council dangerous at all?”

Luhan looked surprised and Jongin couldn’t blame him. Jongin usually avoided all the conversations that had to deal with wolf society, it never intrigued him before. “I would assume so?” He said, glancing at Sehun as if to confirm his answer.

Sehun nodded, a glimmer of admiration in his eyes. “They say it’s really hard to get involved with the Alpha Council, a lot of what they do is really hush hush. I know they help with some things in the Borderlands and help uphold the laws and whatnot, but there are a lot of rumors that their job goes a bit further than that.”

“You think Kyungsoo is tired because of something to do with the Alpha Council, Jongin?” Luhan asked curiously.

Seeing the way Sehun looked a bit too interested in his answer, Jongin thought carefully before answering. “He was worried about something on Friday before calculus, I just wondered…”

“Lu, I _knew_ there was something more going on here!” Sehun hissed in excitement, grabbing onto his mate’s arm. “Kyungsoo said they were looking for something, it must be something the Council sent them to do!”

Luhan grimaced at Jongin as if to say that he wished the human had kept his mouth shut. “There is no reason to read that far into it, Sehun. Even if that were true, it’s not like we are ever going to know for sure. We’re just small-town wolves, remember?”

Sehun pouted at that, slumping in his chair. “Small town wolves that got to train with EXO…” He mumbled.

Jongin let Luhan and Sehun continue bickering in their whispered tones, choosing instead to return to his thoughts and occasionally steal glances at Kyungsoo’s sleeping face. The time they had to waste in the cafeteria was ending, Jongin knew he would need to leave soon for his biology class, but he couldn’t muster up the strength to wake the wolf beside him a second before it was absolutely necessary.  
In the end, it wasn’t up to Jongin to wake up Kyungsoo after all. As Sehun stood up to gather his belongings, his chair squealed against the linoleum yet again, causing Kyungsoo to sit up so fast that Jongin couldn’t help the small gasp that left his lips.

“What?” the wolf asked, voice husky with sleep, wide eyes meeting Jongin’s as if he had been searching for him.

“Sorry, Kyungsoo! We need to leave the cafeteria now, though.” Sehun apologized quickly, looking a little guilty for waking Kyungsoo up.

The wolf’s expression relaxed as he took a few glances around the cafeteria, hand coming up to rub at his eyes childishly. Jongin thought Kyungsoo looked like a little kid waking up from a nap and couldn’t help the small smile from forming on his own face.

“It’s okay, I need to get to my next class, too.” He said, his tone still low from sleep.

Jongin didn’t want to let the wolf go by himself, he still felt the weird urge to protect the tired wolf even though logically, Jongin knew he could never offer Kyungsoo any kind of help in that area. “What is your next class, Kyungsoo?” He asked anyway, hoping it was something close to his biology classroom.

Kyungsoo stared at him, expression almost surprised. “Uh… sociology.” He answered. Jongin smiled, knowing that they could at least walk in the same direction.

“I need to go the same way. Let’s walk together?” He suggested, standing up and gathering his trash to throw away in the bins by the door.

“See you in calculus, Jongin, Kyungsoo!” Sehun called as him and Luhan left for the doors first, hands clasped together between them swinging slightly.

“See you!” Jongin called back before slinging his backpack on and waiting for Kyungsoo to join him.

“Thanks for letting me sleep.” Kyungsoo mumbled as he stood up as well. “I know you asked them to keep it down.”

Jongin felt the heat rising into his cheeks. “You looked like you needed it.”

Kyungsoo flashed him a small smile, the aura Jongin was used to feeling from the wolf beginning to return as the older woke up. “I had a hard time sleeping this weekend, that’s all.”

They made their way out of the cafeteria, walking side by side. The campus was very small and Jongin knew it would only be a few short minutes before they would part. Normally, Jongin was the kind of person who observed and made conclusions himself, but with Kyungsoo, the curiosity burning in his chest was too much to stop him from asking, “Why?”

Kyungsoo didn’t reply right away, instead he was silent as if contemplating what would be the right answer. Jongin somehow knew the wolf would answer him, so he waited patiently as they walked.

“Jongdae found his mate.” Kyungsoo finally said. “There were only enough rooms for the number of pack members we had when we got here, so I had to move to the couch.”

“Oh, those couches are probably not comfortable to sleep on.” Jongin said sympathetically. Jongin himself hadn’t ever known the struggle of being unable to sleep somewhere – his mother loves to tell the story of the time Jongin fell asleep standing up in the line for a rollercoaster when he was a child to prove he can sleep anywhere – but he knew many people were easily affected by changes in sleep environments.

“Not really.” Kyungsoo agreed quietly.

Jongin knew his time was up and they both needed to get to class. “Well, just two more classes until the day is over, right?” He said, trying to encourage Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah, just two more classes.”

“Fighting!” Jongin said, holding a clenched fist to Kyungsoo, whose heart shaped smile only grew at the childish cheer.

“Fighting.” He returned, chuckling a little.

________________________________________

_This is a stupid idea, Jongin, you only met him a few days ago._ Jongin couldn’t stop his racing thoughts as he pulled out the middle chair at his usual table in calculus. _But there is no harm in asking, right?_

_Unless he thinks you’re creepy or dumb._

Jongin had spent biology thinking about Kyungsoo’s situation. It sounded like there was no longer room for Kyungsoo in the house they were staying in. It made Jongin’s heart hurt to think of Kyungsoo not having a place in his own home. Until a crazy thought gave him an easy solution to help Kyungsoo.

Jongin’s mom had always insisted on having a guest bedroom. Jongin used to hate it growing up, no one ever stayed with them and it was just extra chores for him since he had to change the bedding every week in the guest bedroom as well as his own. Now, though, Jongin felt a pang of gratitude for the guest bedroom in his house. He could offer it to Kyungsoo. He was sure his mom wouldn’t mind having a guest in the house and Kyungsoo could go back to being able to sleep at night.

It was a solution until Jongin remembered he had just met Kyungsoo. Plus, both Jongin and his mom were just humans and he had no idea how Kyungsoo would feel about that. Sehun had stayed over at his house plenty of times, but Sehun wasn’t part of a pack yet. Jongin was unsure if things like that changed when you belonged to a pack.

In the end, though, Jongin’s worries about offering his guest bedroom to Kyungsoo were erased when the wolf walked into the classroom and Jongin could see the dark circles from his position in the back of the room. There was no way he could _not_ offer Kyungsoo the bed.

“Kyungsoo?” He asked as the wolf sat down beside him with a sigh.

Kyungsoo seemed surprised again that Jongin spoke to him, his tired eyes opening wide as he looked at Jongin. “Yes?”

Jongin began playing with his fingers, a habit that always came out when he was nervous. “So… You told me that you had to sleep on the couch and you obviously aren’t sleeping well…” He was rambling, he _knew_ he was rambling, but he couldn’t just say it. “… I know we just met last week and I don’t know how packs work or if you would even want to be around humans, but…” Kyungsoo was staring at him with eyes growing even wider than they had been before, but his expression was patient as he waited for Jongin to finish. “I have a guest bedroom that you can use it if you want.” Jongin finished somewhat lamely, eyes focused on his fingers.

There was a charged silence between them that made Jongin wish he could just disappear into the floor more and more each second that it dragged on. He was about to open his mouth to apologize for saying anything when Kyungsoo cleared his throat.

“Thank you.” The wolf said with so much feeling that Jongin looked up to him in surprise. Kyungsoo smiled at him genuinely when their eyes met. “That is very kind, Jongin. Are you sure it wouldn’t be a bother? I can get used to sleeping on a couch, you don’t have to offer your home.”

Jongin blinked, feeling frozen at the turn this had taken. He hadn’t expected Kyungsoo to actually consider it. Then he realized Kyungsoo had asked him something and was patiently waiting for an answer. “Oh! It wouldn’t be a bother, we already have the room set up. Sehun is the only one who would ever use it, but he never does anyway.”

Kyungsoo smiled again. “You should make sure your mom is okay with having a guest first and I will need to talk to Suho, but I appreciate the offer very much.”

Jongin couldn’t hold back his answering smile, which stayed on his face throughout the rest of class.


	12. Chapter 9

Suho sat alone in his bedroom, scrolling through emails lazily, deleting the occasional spam email that always managed to make it into his inbox, reading over news from the packs of the other Alpha Council members.

When Suho gave up his birth name and decided to create his own pack, he envisioned building a pack so strong that they would be needed to sort out conflict. He dreamt of fierce battles, secret Alpha Council missions, and the glory that would come to him and his pack from being the very best. However, as Kyungsoo's low tones said "knock knock" from the door, Suho once again felt he was more like a mom than anything else. He patted the space on the bed beside him. Being wanted wasn’t so bad, at least. “Ah, Kyungsoo, come in.”

Kyungsoo sat without fanfare, crossing his legs underneath him. “Where is Yixing?” He asked.

Suho closed the laptop and reached to move it to the bedside table. “He went to a local café he found to work again, of course. He said my dad jokes distract him too much.” He let a little whine into his voice but felt no real objection. Yixing had been close to finishing some new research material for his nursing job before they set off to find Jongdae and Kyungsoo’s mate. Suho had long since gotten used to his mate’s schedule, encouraging him to pursue his passion for medicine, but they often teased each other about the reasons Yixing left to work on his own somewhere almost daily.

He sighed when Kyungsoo didn’t start speaking himself after a few moments of silence. “You still look like you haven’t slept. Was the couch that bad?” He tried, knowing Kyungsoo sometimes needed a little prompting to speak up, especially if emotions were involved.

Kyungsoo shook his head, playing with a loose thread on the seam of his black pants. “I had a nightmare, so I just went back out to check on Jongin.” He admitted quietly.

Suho winced. “I worried Minseok’s past might bring that back up for you. I’m sorry.” Kyungsoo may never admit it outright, but Suho had found Kyungsoo awake enough times when he first joined the pack to know that the younger struggled with nightmares to the point of being too scared to sleep sometimes.

Kyungsoo shrugged. “It’s not Minseok’s fault my father was a horrible wolf.”

“It’s not your fault, either, Kyungsoo.” Suho said gently, as he tried to do whenever Kyungsoo tried to take the blame of things that weren’t his fault. “But I don’t think that’s what you came to talk about, am I right?”

Kyungsoo seemed to take a moment to steal himself, as if saying the words was physically hard. “Jongin offered me the guest room in his house.”

Suho had to rein in a surprised chuckle, expecting Kyungsoo’s news to be something of concern. Any other wolf would be happy to be invited to stay in his mate’s house, yet Kyungsoo looked like this was something of life or death importance. Then again, Kyungsoo wasn’t just any other wolf and Jongin wasn’t exactly a normal mate. “And?” He prompted when Kyungsoo still didn’t continue.

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows and stared at Suho as if he was missing something obvious. “And I don’t know what to do?”

“What do you think you should do?” Suho asked, forcing his face and tone to remain neutral.

“I think…” Kyungsoo trailed off to collect his thoughts before continuing. “I think staying in his house would give me peace of mind that he was safe. But I don’t know how strong the Pull or my instinct to claim him would be if I stayed with him. So… I don’t know what I should do.”

Suho scoffed at that. “Do you think you won’t be able to control your instincts? Kyungsoo, we all know you’re the best in the pack at controlling yourself. I’m not even the slightest bit concerned about you losing control.”

“What if I do something to hurt Jongin?” Kyungsoo asked quietly, hands falling into the space between his crossed legs. “What if I’m not someone he will want to be around?”

Suho felt his heart squeeze in his chest. It wasn’t often Kyungsoo allowed himself to voice his vulnerabilities, he liked to keep his worries to himself, and Suho knew he would have to word his response very carefully so Kyungsoo wouldn’t withdraw back into himself. “Kyungsoo, I think you’re forgetting that the Pull of mates goes both ways. Jongin has to have some kind of feeling for you, too, even if he doesn’t know what it is.”

“It’s just… so unfair, Suho. You know?” Kyungsoo said, voice trembling just a little now. “I care more about him by the day and I can’t tell him anything I’m thinking because I don’t want to scare him.”

Suho rubbed his back comfortingly. “I can’t even imagine what this situation must feel like, Kyungsoo. But you know what? I can’t think of a single wolf I know that I would trust with handling this situation more than you.”

Kyungsoo scoffed at that, sparing Suho a disbelieving glance through overly bright eyes.

“No, really!” Suho said earnestly. “Who better to be the mate of a hybrid than an alpha wolf who spent years trying to become human himself? You’ve already learned the dangers of being a wolf and you walk on the line of caution at all times. You’d never hurt him, Kyungsoo. And he obviously likes you enough to offer you a place in his life. Isn’t that enough for now?”

Kyungsoo looked as if he wasn’t sure what the answer to that question was yet. “So you think I should take his offer?” He asked instead.

Suho smiled at him widely. “Definitely.” He gave Kyungsoo a little nudge. “Go figure out the details of moving out, but make sure you’re here around 7, okay? We’re going to have a pack meeting.”

________________________________________

Suho feared that they were running out of time to prepare as a pack. That’s why he spent the few hours between talking to Kyungsoo and the meeting planning what each of the members should do in the meantime. Even though Suho often felt like more of a mom than an alpha of a powerful pack, he couldn’t deny that each of his pack mates had already worked incredibly hard to become a pack Suho was proud of. The only set back was finally understanding the true danger of it all. If something big was coming for EXO, they would have to fight. Fighting would put all their lives on the line and the fear of losing any of his pack, even the new addition of Minseok made Suho’s throat tighten.

Most of his pack members hadn’t caught onto Suho’s serious mood yet as they gathered. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were singing verses of a song back a forth loudly when Suho left his planning to join them downstairs, changing the lyrics to try and make each other laugh. Minseok was trying to hide his shy smile by leaning behind Jongdae. Kyungsoo, for perhaps the first time ever, was glued to his cell phone where Suho knew he must be texting Jongin about the moving arrangements.

Yixing, of course reached out to squeeze his shoulder as Suho joined him on the loveseat, using his thumb to gently massage where he knew Suho frequently had knots. “Relax.” He said softly. “You’re too tense.”

Suho sighed softly under the omega’s ministrations, leaning his head to the side to grant Yixing more access. “How did your project go today?” He wanted to distract himself from the worry building in his chest with Yixing’s soft voice while the rest were still distracted.

Yixing moved closer to use both hands to press into the knots in Suho’s shoulders, using his knowledge of anatomy to his advantage. “I’m almost done gathering the sources I need to write the report, I’m ahead of schedule. Maybe I should take a few days off to help you out here, how does that sound?”

“Mmmm…” Suho managed, closing his eyes and letting himself relax. “You know I’d love to have you, but you don’t have to take days off just because I’m a little stressed.”

Yixing chuckled, leaning forward to plant a light kiss on Suho’s temple. “Silly, that’s what I’m here for.”

Suho made eye contact with his mate, feeling the rest of the tension still left behind melt away with the expression of love he saw reflected there. Yixing didn’t like to be flashy with his affection, but the subtle and innocent slips of affection that did make it through were always enough to make Suho feel as if he were the luckiest wolf alive.

“Seeing you two be mushy always makes me uncomfortable. It’s like seeing my parents make out.” Baekhyun commented, apparently done singing with Chanyeol and drawing everyone’s attention to their alpha and his mate.

Suho felt his face heat up to what he was sure was a fire engine red, while Yixing seemed as unaffected as usual. Unfair.

When the laughter from Chanyeol and Jongdae finally died down, Suho cleared his throat. “I guess that means you’re ready to start the meeting then?” Quickly, Suho felt the atmosphere go from one of embarrassment for him to the more serious ‘pack business’ feel, all six pairs of eyes on him to start.

He locked eyes with Minseok, who looked almost sick due to nervousness. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand something or if you have input, alright? Rank means nothing in these meetings. You don’t have to stay quiet just because you’re an omega.”

The omega sat up straighter in his seat, still looking nervous but seemed determined to participate. Suho gave him an encouraging smile, seeing Jongdae squeeze his mate’s hand in approval as well before addressing the whole group.

“As you are all aware, Kris is going to come out here to check on the situation with Jongin as soon as he can. However, we shouldn’t wait around for the Alpha Council to come fix it for us since there is no guarantee Kris can come soon.” He began, his tone turning the mood serious. “We need to figure out as much as we can as well as make sure Jongin is never put into a vulnerable situation.”

“We should probably start taking shifts out by Jongin’s house, then.” Jongdae suggested. “Kyungsoo shouldn’t have to spend every night phased out there alone.”

Suho gave Kyungsoo a pointed look, urging for the alpha to tell the rest of the pack what he was working out with Jongin. “Uh…” Kyungsoo said, clearing his throat before continuing. “Actually, I’m going to be staying with Jongin starting tomorrow –“

The room erupted as Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Jongdae exploded with questions and exclamations, too fast for Suho to pick out any one thing each of them were saying. He growled in the back of his throat lowly and the 3 wolves shut up, sending apologetic looks to their pack alpha.

“He was invited by Jongin so he won’t have to sleep on the couch.” Suho explained, rolling his eyes at the suggestive looks Baekhyun and Chanyeol were shooting at Kyungsoo, who could only glare in return. “I don’t think we are going to need shifts unless that alpha’s scent shows up again.”

“What else should we do in the meantime, then?” Yixing asked, sensing Suho’s eagerness to move past Kyungsoo moving in with Jongin.

“Baekhyun and Chanyeol,” He waited until both wolves looked away from teasing Kyungsoo before continuing. “I want you to keep working with Sehun and Luhan, I would like to see them improve as much as possible. While you’re working with them, try to gather as much information about packs in the area, Sehun’s friendship with Jongin, any suspicious wolves or local myths. Whoever is watching Jongin may have a reputation among the packs here, we might be able to get some clues from those two.”

Chanyeol nodded eagerly. “Can do, boss.”

“Keep me updated on how quickly they pick up training and any information you think is even the slightest bit relevant.” He moved on quickly to Jongdae and Minseok’s assignments, not leaving any room for the group to become distracted. “Jongdae, I want you to work on getting Minseok caught up on our procedures as quickly as possible. Don’t push it too hard, Minseok, but we don’t know how soon we may be forced to take action one way or another and I don’t want you vulnerable, either.”

Minseok looked even more determined now. “I can do it.” He said, voice soft but unwavering.

Suho smiled at the omega again. “Of course you can. Jongdae, as soon as he is ready, get him in with Sehun and Luhan and work on training all three of them on bigger pack drills. If Sehun and Luhan are doing well at that point, I want us all to vote on adding them to the pack.” He could see the shock on some of the members faces at that. They hadn’t added anyone to the pack – apart from Minseok by addition of mating – for almost three years. However, Suho didn’t want to take the time to address the surprise. Instead, he simply continued.

He turned to his mate, who had been holding his hand in silent support this whole time. “Yixing, I was hoping that you could do some research on hybrids. I assume there won’t be much, but even theories about the possibilities or what we might expect from the offspring of a wolf and a human could be helpful.”

Yixing blessed him with a smile and a nod. “Sounds interesting! I’ll send an email to some of my colleagues in genetics under the guise of curiosity and go from there.”

He gave Yixing’s hand a squeeze before looking towards Kyungsoo. “Along with ensuring Jongin’s safety, you need to do what you can to learn about Jongin’s past while you’re there. Ask him about his father, try and get some answers from his mother, too.” Kyungsoo nodded solemnly.

“I’m also going to request that we do as much individual and pack training as possible.”

Jongdae cleared his throat, the first to interrupt Suho’s long list of tasks. “Do you really think that much training is necessary? Half of us are going to be working on drills already, taking it any further seems a little excessive.”

“I agree.” Chanyeol chimed in. “Besides, where are we going to fit in time for all of us to work together if we have these individual tasks?”

Baekhyun, to Suho’s surprise, shook his head. “No, I think Suho has the right idea.” With the incredulous looks from his mate and Jongdae, Baekhyun quickly backtracked. “That alpha was able to get close enough to peep into our windows without us having a clue. To be honest, I’m really freaked out by that. We shouldn’t take any chances.”

“Exactly.” Suho agreed, pleased with Baekhyun. “My gut is telling me that this is going to get ugly before it gets better and I don’t want to risk any kind of casualty due to lack of preparation.”

It was as if his words had actual weight with the way the tension seemed to settle on each of his pack mate’s shoulders. Suho hated to put that weight there, but the consequences of taking the current situation too lightly were greater than Suho was willing to take a chance on. He couldn’t imagine the pain of losing any of EXO. He wasn’t sure if the pack would recover from a loss like that.

The heaviness in the air was almost crushing as it continued and Suho knew he needed to say _something_ to lift that burden. Yixing took the hand he was already holding and cradled it in both of his own, offering the pillar of support Suho would always need from him.

“As wolves, we all know packs are central to our lives, but I truly believe that EXO was destined to be together. I find it hard to believe that finding each other is an accident. Finding Jongin isn’t an accident, either. He is part of the destiny that is EXO, and so we need to do everything we can to protect our own.

“I don’t know what we will face,” he continued, voice raw with emotion as he looked at each of the members of _his_ pack who meant so much to him. “and I can’t tell you it isn’t going to be dangerous, because it will be. However, I can tell you that you have each become so strong, you have all worked so hard. If we can join our strengths, I don’t think there is anything that we can’t face together. We are EXO. We are one and we’ll get through this.”

“You’re so cheesy.” Jongdae whined, his expression softening the teasing words. He gave his alpha a nod of approval, signaling that he agreed with the sentiments.

One by one, Suho met the eyes of each of his pack mates. Minseok’s quiet determination to prove himself in his new pack. Chanyeol’s contagious confidence in himself and EXO. Baekhyun’s bright eyes that found the positives in every situation. Kyungsoo’s expressive eyes that gave away how much he truly cared for his pack. And lastly, Yixing’s admiration, silent support, and love that was written in the crinkles under his eyes. And Suho knew then, no matter what happened, they would make it through this together. Because they were EXO.


	13. Chapter 10

Sehun grumbled under his breath in irritation, eyebrows pulled into an intimidating scowl as he stomped towards his calculus class, the words of his mate at lunch still ringing in his ears, only vaguely aware of the people rushing to get out of his way.

_“We’ll just have to cancel any plans we make today, because we both know we are going to spend hours at home with you whining at me to help you with your math homework.”_

Sehun had just wanted to maybe go get ice cream or a burger, but Luhan was an idiot and had to bring calculus into the conversation. Sehun had immediately denied that he whined – even though he knew he did – simply to be contradictory… but mostly because his mate hurt his feelings when declining his date plan. Obviously, this resulted in a whispered argument between the two wolves with neither wanting to admit they were wrong. Luhan had stalked away before reaching a conclusion, leaving Sehun to stew in his bad mood by himself before having to head to class.

Sehun barely rushed into his classroom on time, only offering his friend and Kyungsoo a curt nod before pulling out his materials as the professor called the class to attention. He still felt a thrum of anger as he bent over his calculus textbook, focusing on trying to make sense of the numbers as the Professor walked the class through how to solve the equations. He would show Luhan that he was perfectly capable of finishing his math homework without any help, _thank you very much_. Most of the time the beta was whining because he wanted Luhan’s attention, not because he couldn’t figure it out on his own. _Stupid alpha_.

With his determination to prove his mate wrong, he studiously ignored the whispered conversation Jongin seemed to be having with Kyungsoo throughout the class. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, with the help Luhan had ultimately been giving him Sehun was now feeling slightly behind in understanding the concepts on his own. He forced his hand to scribble numbers along with his professor, jotting down tips as he went along, the class passing by surprisingly quickly now that Sehun was devoting his full attention to it.

After Sehun heard the professor dismiss them, he spent another minute scanning his notes, trying to lock the information in and understand all the new concepts. It was because of his extra focus that he only caught the end of Jongin’s conversation with Kyungsoo.

“… and just text me when you’re on your way.” His friend was saying. Sehun glanced up, curiosity finally breaking his focus. Kyungsoo was nodding with a small, almost shy smile before turning and walking towards the line out of the door.

“Since when are you and Kyungsoo texting?” Sehun asked, shutting his textbook with a suppressed sigh, feeling a headache come on from staring at numbers for too long, his anger at Luhan fading into exhaustion.

Jongin’s cheeks darkened, a telltale sign that something interesting was going on. “Since yesterday, I guess.”

Sehun shot his best friend a suspicious glance, welcoming the distraction now that class was over, knowing he had done everything in his power to work through the assignment tonight. “And you made plans?” 

Jongin shuffled on his feet, looking at the floor. “Oh… well, you know how Kyungsoo was really tired yesterday?”

Sehun gave a hum of acknowledgement, shoving his things into his backpack. 

“Well, I don’t know all the details, but Kyungsoo mentioned to me yesterday that Jongdae had found his mate,” Sehun couldn’t stop himself from looking at Jongin in surprise, feeling eager to hear more. “so he had to give up the bed in the room he had been sharing with Jongdae.”

Sehun was a sucker for gossip, already beginning to forget the argument with Luhan. “How did Jongdae meet his mate?”

Jongin shook his head slightly, leading the way out of the classroom once Sehun had finished zipping up his bag. “You’d have to ask Kyungsoo, I don’t really know. We only talked about how he had to sleep on the couch now.”

“Okay,” Sehun said, jogging to walk alongside his friend instead of behind him. “I don’t see the connection between Kyungsoo not sleeping well and you starting to text?”

Jongin was looking anywhere but at Sehun, a light flush on his cheeks betraying him again. “I kind of offered my guest bedroom to him, and so we were texting about when he could bring his stuff over.”

Sehun stared at his friend in shock, freezing on the spot. Jongin was not the type to initiate relationships with other people. In fact, Sehun had spent most of his life worrying that Jongin would never figure out how to build a friendship with someone other than Sehun himself. Even getting Jongin comfortable with Luhan’s presence had taken time, yet now his friend was offering a spare room to someone they had only recently met?

Jongin seemed to balk under Sehun’s stare when he turned around to see why Sehun had stopped. “I felt bad that he was so tired the other day, you know? And it’s not like anyone is using that spare room for anything.” His friend almost sounded as if he was seeking validation, voice soft and questioning.

There was something about this new information that wasn’t sitting well with Sehun. “Did Kyungsoo talk to Suho about this?” It seemed odd that a wolf with a chosen pack would voluntarily move away from said pack, and even more odd that the alpha of said pack would approve the separation.

Jongin nodded, still avoiding Sehun’s gaze. “Yes, he talked to Suho about it yesterday. Why?”

Sehun knew that Jongin was human and of course wouldn’t see anything weird about a wolf moving away from his pack. The only wolf Jongin had extensive experience with was Sehun himself, and Sehun hadn’t chosen a pack to bond with yet. “No reason.” Sehun dismissed, deciding to let Jongin off the hook for now.

They walked to Sehun’s car in silence, their friendship long past the need for constant conversation. Something was still bothering him about the Jongin and Kyungsoo situation, but Sehun couldn’t pinpoint why he felt strange about it. He would have to discuss it with Luhan, he was always the best at helping Sehun make sense of things. Maybe if he was lucky, the topic would distract his mate enough to forget about Sehun’s stupid promise to finish his homework without any help.

\----------------------------------------

Minseok stood next to the front door of his new home with his arms folded in front of his chest, watching his mate carry out a few bags to place in the pack’s SUV. He couldn’t stop the sheepish expression from making its way onto his face. He was feeling guilty. He had intended to help Jongdae put Kyungsoo’s luggage into the car since it was his fault the alpha had to move in the first place but couldn’t stop his breathing from accelerating in panic when he caught Kyungsoo’s scent on the bags. Jongdae, ever patient, had pulled Minseok away from their packmate’s stuff quickly and promised he had no problem doing the job by himself. Yet Minseok couldn’t help but feel weak at his own response.

“Stop,” Jongdae’s low voice pulled him from his thoughts. Minseok blinked up at his mate, who had come to stand in front of where Minseok was leaning on the door frame. “I can tell you’re still feeling bad.”

Minseok broke eye contact with his mate, feeling a blush creep into his cheeks. “I wanted to help, since he is moving for my sake…”

He felt the warmth of his alpha’s hand caress his face. “You don’t need to feel that way. Kyungsoo gets to be close to his own mate now. No one is being inconvenienced.”

Minseok hummed, closing his eyes and leaning into Jongdae’s touch. “Do you think I will ever get over my fear of Kyungsoo and Suho’s scents?”

Jongdae took his time replying, playing with a few strands of Minseok’s hair with his fingers. “I’m sure you will, but you don’t have to push yourself. Hell, Kyungsoo may be the person who understands your situation the best. They know it isn’t personal.”

Jongdae had told Minseok about Kyungsoo’s upbringing and his father’s pack in the Borderlands and of how scared Kyungsoo had been of his own strength for years after leaving and joining EXO. Maybe one day he could have a one on one talk with Kyungsoo about the Borderlands. Minseok smiled a little, feeling the warmth of hope settle in his chest in place of the guilt. 

“Jongdae,” He asked, opening his eyes and meeting his mate’s stare. “Do you think we can go for a run later?”

His mate gave him one of his signature cat-like smiles. “Of course. Let me go tell Kyungsoo we are ready to head out, and we can run when I get back.” And with a quick kiss on the end of Minseok’s nose, Jongdae was off to find Kyungsoo, leaving Minseok with the stain of a blush on his cheeks and the low rumbling of his quiet laughter.

\--------------------------------------

Kyungsoo stared at his phone screen, willing his heartbeat to slow and his stupid wolf to calm down. He had received the reply almost immediately after sending the text that he was on his way.

##### Jongin: Sounds great! You can come on in, the door is unlocked. See you soon Kyungsoo!

Kyungsoo’s stomach was flipping in nerves. He still wasn’t sure it was a good idea to stay in Jongin’s home, surrounded by his scent everywhere, especially when his wolf was excited just _thinking_ about being closer to his mate. 

Kyungsoo focused on the words ‘the door is unlocked’ and felt a pang of worry. Did Jongin always leave the door unlocked? What if the mystery alpha walked right in? 

Kyungsoo’s inner wolf seemed to hone in on the anxiety bubbling in his chest, as if trying to convince Kyungsoo that moving in with Jongin was the best possible solution to keep him safe. But Kyungsoo wasn’t sure it was just the mystery alpha that Jongin needed protection from.

As the alpha’s thoughts spiraled in circles, the drive passed by quickly. Too soon, Jongdae was pulling into a driveway and asking Kyungsoo if this was the right house number. Feeling an odd mixture of excitement and dread, Kyungsoo could only nod. 

“Do you need any help carrying in your bags?” Jongdae asked when Kyungsoo didn’t make any move to open the door.

“No, I think I will manage.” Kyungsoo tore his eyes away from the phone screen at last, tucking the device into his jacket pocket. 

After a few more seconds of Kyungsoo remaining frozen in his seat, Jongdae cleared his throat. “You know, when we went to the Alpha Council headquarters and I learned that Minseok was there, I was absolutely terrified to meet him.” Jongdae’s voice was calm and conversational, easing Kyungsoo’s racing thoughts as he listened. “I mean, I was an _alpha_ , the very thing that had caused Minseok’s horrible experiences in the omega farm. I was sure that my scent would make everything worse, certain that I was going to be all wrong for him, I was even scared that my instincts would lead me to hurt him even more than he had already been hurt.”

Kyungsoo could relate to the feeling, even if the situations were different.

“But you know what? Minseok welcomed me with open arms and has never once had a problem with my scent, despite everything. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, or I just smell amazing.” Jongdae chuckled a little bit before his voice leveled in seriousness. “And my instincts knew exactly what to do to help the situation. I’ll never know for sure, but I think it is more likely that it is because we are mates that Minseok was able to be comfortable with me and both of our instincts helped us navigate what we should do. Because I was made for him, and he was made for me, it was as natural as breathing.”

Jongdae gave him a kind smile when he caught Kyungsoo’s serious gaze on him. “I know you’re worried your instincts will somehow do damage here, but I truly believe that you aren’t giving yourself or Jongin enough credit. Things will work out because you were also made for him and him for you. You’ll know what to do.”

Kyungsoo felt a burning in his eyes and lump in his throat as he thought about Jongdae’s words. He wanted to believe in that so much and craved for things to fall into place easily with Jongin, like all the romantic stories he had idealized after finally escaping his father’s influence. Could he really trust himself enough to let go to his instincts? Right now, his wolf was demanding to leave the vehicle and rush into where Jongin was… just to be with his mate. He could handle doing that, right? 

He took a deep breath to calm as many of his remaining nerves as possible and gave Jongdae a genuine smile. “Thank you.” He said seriously. He was extremely grateful for Jongdae and his quiet reassurances. How lucky was he to end up in a pack with so many people who would try and understand and help him? 

Jongdae simply returned Kyungsoo’s smile with one of his own as Kyungsoo finally opened the car door.


	14. Chapter 11

Jongin stared at his phone screen absentmindedly, opening and closing his messaging app. He was feeling on edge, waiting for a reply from Kyungsoo that was probably not going to come since he had just informed his new friend to simply walk in when he arrived. Jongin was still feeling a bit in shock that this was really happening. There had been so many opportunities for Kyungsoo to decline politely, or for his mom to say no, or even for Suho to not agree for Kyungsoo to come. Yet here he was anyway, waiting for his new house guest and feeling vaguely like he was about to throw up. If his mother hadn’t helped him clean up the entire house the day before, he would probably be stress cleaning right now instead of sitting and stewing in his own anxiousness. 

He didn’t even know why he was feeling so on edge. It’s not like he had never had a friend stay over. In fact, Jongin couldn’t remember a time when Sehun hadn’t spent at least one weekend per month over at his home for sleepovers growing up. Of course, Sehun hadn’t ever stayed more than a few days and they had always spent the night on Jongin’s couches instead of Sehun occupying his guest bedroom. But that shouldn’t be reason enough to cause Jongin’s nervousness.

The fact that Kyungsoo was not just a wolf, but an _alpha_ wolf from a powerful pack should be more than enough to put humans a little bit on guard, he supposed. Yet Jongin knew deep down that that wasn’t the reason he was nervous now. He had never had the same reaction to wolves as his peers and he was more comfortable talking to Kyungsoo already than he felt talking to any of the humans from his small graduating class. So why did he feel so much pressure?

Jongin was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed the soft squeak of the front door opening, giving a split-second notice before he heard a soft ‘Jongin?’ 

Around the corner stood a very nervous looking Kyungsoo, with one duffel bag hanging from his frame and a small rolling suitcase resting near his leg. Jongin took in his new friend’s eyes wandering, taking in Jongin’s mother’s modest decorating, mostly consisting of neutral browns in this area of the house. He hoped the wolf liked what he could see.

“Hey, Kyungsoo!” Jongin said, trying to sound enthusiastic without being too jarring, since Kyungsoo hadn’t looked at him yet. Kyungsoo gave a little start anyway and Jongin gave him a small apologetic smile as their eyes met. “Do you want some help carrying that upstairs? I can show you your room…?” He was trying hard not to feel awkward under Kyungsoo’s gaze, he could almost feel uneasy waves rolling off the wolf. 

Kyungsoo cleared his throat softly before nodded in agreement. “Thank you, Jongin.”

He tried not to notice the subtle flinch in Kyungsoo’s hand as Jongin reached for the rolling suitcase. “All of the bedrooms are upstairs, so I’ll just… lead the way.”

Jongin felt Kyungsoo’s gaze on his back as he climbed the stairs with Kyungsoo’s suitcase in tow. It was light, probably only full of clothes. Kyungsoo had mentioned that they were traveling light, most of EXO’s larger belongings at their permanent residence in one of the surrounding suburbs around the big city. Jongin tried not to think of how his own home must compare to EXO’s, the images of fancy city homes flashing behind his eyes. Jongin’s home was old and getting a little creaky if you stepped on the old floorboards the wrong way, but it had been home for longer than he could remember.

“My mother’s room is to the left, along with the extra linen closet.” He gestured when he reached the second floor, trying to be a good host despite feeling just as nervous as Kyungsoo looked. “We have a bathroom up here that you are more than welcome to use,” He opened the door across the landing from the stairs. “but we have another bathroom downstairs you can use if this one is occupied.” 

He peeked behind him to find Kyungsoo still standing on the stairs, hands clutched around the strap of his duffel bag. His eyes were fixed on some of the frames his mother had put up on the wall of the hallway and Jongin’s felt his face get warm with a blush. Jongin laughed awkwardly, figuring there was no use trying to distract from his childhood photos, even if he was feeling embarrassed. “I was 8, in that picture.” Jongin said when he had followed Kyungsoo’s gaze. The Jongin in the picture was missing a front tooth but smiling happily at the camera while clinging to his mother’s back as she gave him a piggy back ride, his mom’s smile just as big as his own.

Kyungsoo blinked at him with a sheepish expression, as if he felt bad for looking. “Is that your mom?” He asked quietly.

Jongin nodded. “Yeah, although we don’t look too much alike.” His mother’s small heart shaped face and soft pale skin seemed to gleam in the sunlight the day they took the picture, where Jongin himself glowed with his more bronze complexion. His mom had always been so soft and delicate… Jongin himself didn’t know if he shared that same trait.

Kyungsoo hummed to show he was listening but had focused on looking through the other pictures – mostly school photos, one of him and Sehun on the day they graduated from high school, and a few others of him with his mom. “Do you not have a picture of you and your dad? Oh, god, that is probably so rude of me to ask, I’m –“

Jongin laughed, cutting Kyungsoo’s apology off. “It’s fine, Kyungsoo. But no, I don’t have a picture of my dad. It’s been just my mom and I for as long as I can remember.” Jongin wasn’t particularly bothered by his lack of father figure anymore. He’d had his whole life to get over that, and his mom did so much for him that he didn’t feel like he was missing out on much. “He died before I was born, near the Borderlands.” Jongin disclosed with a shrug of his shoulders.

If Kyungsoo’s expression had been mildly embarrassed before, now it had darkened into a look closer to concern and fear, a change that Jongin couldn’t quite understand. “Are your parents from the Borderlands?” Kyungsoo’s voice was a little more clipped than usual and the atmosphere between them shifted.

“My mom lived in a town near the Borderlands, and she met my dad there, so I would assume he was also from the area.” Jongin answered slowly, fingers beginning to play with the hem of his shirt under Kyungsoo’s intense stare. “Why?”

Kyungsoo shook his head, expression going blank as if Kyungsoo had caught himself in his own negative reaction. “I just grew up in the Borderlands and it’s not the best area. I’m glad your mom was able to move here.”

Jongin’s mother had said something similar about the Borderlands when Jongin was younger, and he had learned about the history of their – the humans – treaty with the wolves in school, but he hadn’t given very much thought to the Borderlands since. However, the expression on Kyungsoo’s face told him more about the Borderlands than his mother or school combined. It must have been a bad place to make even an alpha of a strong pack look upset.

“Um… so the guest bedroom is right here.” Jongin said, trying once again to push through the thick atmosphere. He led Kyungsoo down the hallway to the right, past his own room to the room at the end of the hallway. He cringed a little bit when he opened the door for Kyungsoo, seeing once again the small room painted in the light pink his mother had picked out. He had removed all the lacy doilies and dolls his mother liked to decorate with, feeling as if they were too tacky, but now the room looked oddly bare. There was only a small white dresser, a closet, and a double bed with flower printed comforter. “Sorry it’s..” 

“Don’t worry about it, Jongin.” Kyungsoo said, voice finally sounding lighter as he walked into the room. “It’s perfect.”

Jongin couldn’t hold in his laughter upon seeing Kyungsoo in the room. The pink and flowers were so opposite from the image of this _alpha wolf_ he had in his head, and he knew Kyungsoo was just being polite by calling it perfect.

It seemed as though Jongin’s laugh finally broke through Kyungsoo’s wall, the wolf finally offering Jongin a warm smile without any trace of hesitation. He didn’t look like he was about to bolt out of the house anymore, which Jongin was going to take as a win.

“I’ll let you get settled in, I guess.” Jongin said, still smiling. “My mom said she’d pick something up for dinner because she wants to make a good impression.”

Kyungsoo looked surprised at that. “Oh, she didn’t have to, I’m just grateful she was willing to offer me a bed.”

Jongin shrugged. “She is honestly just excited about having a guest. I’m going to just be in my room, it’s right next door, you can let me know if you need anything.” He was starting to feel shy again under Kyungsoo’s stare. “Maybe later we can work on homework together?”

Kyungsoo’s answer smile was small, but still soft. “I’d like that. Thank you again, Jongin. I really appreciate what you and your mom have offered.”

Jongin felt a flush on his cheeks, his cue to flee and try and calm his emotions before dinner. “It’s not a problem, Kyungsoo.” Jongin quickly handed Kyungsoo his suitcase, noticing again how Kyungsoo was careful not to let their hands brush, before making his retreat to his own room.

Once away from Kyungsoo’s gaze, Jongin covered his blushing cheeks with his hands and closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure why he was reacting the way he was, Kyungsoo had only thanked him for allowing him to stay, but the smile that had accompanied the thanks had made Jongin’s stomach swoop. 

With a quiet, breathy chuckle at his own silliness, Jongin sat at his desk to try and get some studying done alone, already looking forward to working on homework with Kyungsoo later.

\------------------------------------------

On the fourth night into his stay with Jongin, Kyungsoo lay in bed, smiling at the ceiling just because he felt like it. He and Jongin had finished their homework together about an hour ago, something that they had been doing every night since Kyungsoo’s arrival the previous Tuesday. Jongin had been rubbing at his eyes with cute little balled fists, a habit Kyungsoo had noticed Jongin seemed to fall back to whenever he was sleepy. Sure enough, Jongin had given Kyungsoo a small shy smile and bid him goodnight almost immediately, though Kyungsoo didn’t mind. He had learned very quickly into his stay that Jongin went to bed early and slept in late, somehow needing more sleep than anyone Kyungsoo had ever met. 

Falling into a routine with Jongin had been much easier than Kyungsoo could have ever dreamed. He had built up this idea in his mind that being near Jongin would make his instincts snap and he’d lose all the control he had been working on since leaving the Borderlands. Yet real life proved the opposite of his worries. His wolf seemed to be completely content simply being around Jongin, always excitedly buzzing in the back of Kyungsoo’s mind because he was just _that_ happy. He worried that this contented side of his wolf would only last so long before wanting more from Jongin, but for now, Kyungsoo could almost convince himself that everything was perfect just like this.

Yet reality always had a way of creeping through the cracks.

##### Baekhyun: hey we checked the forest again and there is no sign of any unwanted visitors

Kyungsoo couldn’t stop the sigh from escaping his lips. Members of his pack had been trading off days where they would come and check the tree line by Jongin’s home to make sure the unknown alpha’s scent hadn’t returned. He was very grateful for his pack’s support, but the daily reminder that Jongin may not be as safe as it appeared stressed Kyungsoo out.

##### Kyungsoo: Thank you Baekhyun

##### Baekhyun: are u coming tomorrow?

Kyungsoo sent a quick affirmative before covering his eyes with his hands. As per Suho’s request, the pack was planning to run drills on the weekends. Kyungsoo had invited Jongin along to the house, because he believed Sehun and Luhan may be joining them for at least one of the days, but Jongin had politely declined saying that he didn’t want to be in the way. Kyungsoo couldn’t figure out a way to tell Jongin that he wouldn’t be in the way at all, so he accepted that he was going to have to spend some time apart from Jongin, even though he wasn’t looking forward to it. At least Suho had agreed to run the drills closer to the woods near Jongin’s home so Kyungsoo wouldn’t worry too much.

His phone buzzed again, and he sighed quietly before uncovering his eyes to check his phone once more.

##### Baekhyun: i miss u

It wasn’t the message Kyungsoo had been expecting and he felt his eyes widen in surprise. They weren’t usually sentimental with each other since Baekhyun was more of the type to play a prank or go out of his way to annoy you to show that he cared and Kyungsoo wasn’t a wolf of many words to begin with. But despite all that, they were packmates above everything else and not even Kyungsoo could deny that being away from his pack – even to now be closer to Jongin - wasn’t ideal or sustainable. It was yet another blow to the tiny bubble of content he had been in for the past few days.

##### Kyungsoo: I’ll see you tomorrow baek

He hoped that the nickname would soften his response and let Baekhyun know that he _did_ appreciate the sentiment and was maybe missing the beta a little bit, too. 

Caught up in the same old worries again, Kyungsoo knew that he wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep very quickly. To be fair, it wasn’t even that late yet, but Kyungsoo usually didn’t see a reason to leave the guest room when Jongin wasn’t with him. He thought he could maybe use a drink of water, so with a sigh, Kyungsoo got up from his bed to make his way to the kitchen. 

Too late, he realized that he wasn’t the only one making a late visit to the kitchen.

Jongin’s mother was a petite woman, shorter than Kyungsoo, with pale skin and shoulder length black hair. Kyungsoo at first had found it hard to see the resemblance between her and her son, but it was in her eyes and warmth that Kyungsoo found Jongin. Mrs. Kim had been nothing but kind since they first met, proving that Jongin had been right about her excitement to have a guest finally occupying the spare bedroom. They had never spent time just the two of them together, though, and Kyungsoo debated whether to try and hastily abandon his glass of water in favor of returning upstairs, but it seemed to be too late.

“Oh, Kyungsoo! Are you hungry?” She called softly from her position by the refrigerator.

Fighting back a resigned sigh, Kyungsoo entered the kitchen. “I just wanted some water. But thank you.” He hastily tacked on the thank you, trying not to seem impolite. Kyungsoo wasn’t used to interacting with parents, let alone human parents, so he felt on edge. 

If she had noticed Kyungsoo’s discomfort, she didn’t acknowledge it, simply filling a glass with water from the filter and handing to Kyungsoo, who mumbled a quick ‘thanks’. “I hope you are settling in okay?” She inquired as she pulled some sandwich ingredients out.

Quickly swallowing the water in his mouth, Kyungsoo nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

The tension in Mrs. Kim’s jaw got Kyungsoo’s attention, her body language giving away that she was gearing up to say something.

“You know, Kyungsoo,” she began, still busying herself with making her sandwich. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up for a long time.”

Kyungsoo felt his eyebrows gather together, the confusion he was feeling showing obviously on his face. Thinking that she meant showing up in the kitchen, Kyungsoo wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. “Excuse me?”

Mrs. Kim set her sandwich to the side, letting out a quiet sigh before meeting Kyungsoo’s eyes with her own. “Are you his mate?”

He had to focus on not dropping the glass in his hand in shock. Never in his wildest dreams could he have predicted her asking him that, the implications of those few words were huge. Suho had told him to investigate, but Kyungsoo hadn’t given it any honest thought yet. He was maybe considering asking Jongin more about his parents, but to have his mother approach the subject? Kyungsoo had no idea what to say.

There was a small smile on her lips and understanding in her eyes, however. “I had my suspicions, but the expression on your face says it all.”

Kyungsoo pointedly set his glass down on the counter that was separating them, hoping that she hadn’t noticed the way the water in the glass had begun to move due to his shaking hands. “I – “

“I wasn’t positive that Jongin was going to have a mate, but the other day when he looked so flushed and said he felt weird, I just _knew_.” She gave Kyungsoo a small smile. “I have a lot I want to explain. Would you like to sit?”

Kyungsoo could only nod.


	15. Chapter 12

_“I have a lot I want to explain. Would you like to sit?”_

_Kyungsoo could only nod._

Kyungsoo had made it to the dining room table to sit without too much trouble, but when Jongin’s mom sat across from him Kyungsoo found himself unable to speak. He felt almost numb with the mixture of embarrassment at being addressed as Jongin’s mate by Jongin’s mother as well as shocked that this was happening to begin with. 

Luckily for him, it seemed that she was more than willing to drive the conversation. “So, what’s Jongin’s wolf? I’ve always been curious.”

It was a little off putting for a human to be asking him to talk about another wolf’s status, but he supposed this whole situation was off putting to begin with. “Omega.” He answered after briefly clearing his throat. 

She nodded as if that made perfect sense to her. “He told me that is likely what Jongin would grow up to be. It’s nice to hear it confirmed, though.”

“He…?” Kyungsoo fished, feeling the excitement building in place of embarrassment at the prospect of finally understanding Jongin’s past.

Mrs. Kim sighed and clasped her hands together on the table, knuckles turning a little white. “It’s quite a story… one that I haven’t dared tell anyone out of fear no one would believe me.”

Kyungsoo was mindful of his tone as he answered, trying his best to seem nonjudgmental in hopes of easing her discomfort. “I’m listening.”

“I grew up in a town near the Borderlands.” She began hesitantly, her eyes far away. “It was much different than this area, humans and wolves have a different dynamic over there. One day, just a little while after my eighteenth birthday, I had a run in with a pack of alphas.”

Kyungsoo winced, being able to picture that situation all too well. For some wolves, taking humans was a sport – a way to exercise their power. 

“I knew there was no way I could defend myself against even one alpha, let alone a pack. I had grown up painfully aware of how weak humans were in comparison to wolves. I was positive at that moment that I was about to become yet another cautionary tale for parents to tell their children, but I was so lucky that day.” Her expression grew softer, a small, sad smile pulling at the corners of her lips. “There was another alpha who had been passing by and he stepped in to save me. He even went out of his way to walk with me home to make sure none of the other alphas followed me back. I was not used to such kindness from wolves. Even looking back on it now I can hardly believe it myself.”

From what he saw of the Borderlands in his lifetime, Kyungsoo agreed with her sentiment. Acts of kindness were practically unheard of.

“I expected that to be the last I saw of him, but he stuck around. Whenever I would leave the house he would walk with me, claiming that he had nothing better to do and he’d prefer if I got to my destinations safely. He was like my guard dog.” She chuckled softly at that and Kyungsoo almost smiled with her, the idea of a Borderlands native alpha going out of his way to protect a human sounding like a fairy tale. “It didn’t take a lot for me to start seeing him as more than a stranger.” Her face fell a little, her whole body going tense and betraying her emotions.

“I knew how stupid it was, to fall in love with a wolf. The closest thing to a wolf and a human being together I had ever heard of was the cautionary tales of wolves raping women before consuming them, and that was far from the future I started to daydream about. I had no reason to hope for anything more than safety from him, yet I became desperate for his approval and affection.”

She looked a little sheepish now, glancing up at Kyungsoo as if worried about continuing. “It’s weird to finally tell someone about this situation, especially a wolf. I have no idea if what I’m about to say is common or even legal. I hope you won’t judge me harshly.”

Kyungsoo knew where the story was going of course. Jongin was the proof of the end of this tale. He knew the first time he talked to Suho about Jongin’s scent that this was the most likely possibility. How could he judge her when her choices had given him his mate? Kyungsoo tried to give her his most reassuring smile. “It’s not illegal, for the record. In fact, I don’t think anyone has even thought of making a law against it.”

Her expression grew somber once again, eyes becoming oddly blank. “I never realized that I could become pregnant. When that happened… everything changed. He left me and I left the Borderlands to come here. I let everyone assume that Kim was my married name and told people that my husband had passed away in the Borderlands. Jongin was born a few months later and I’ve been living under that lie ever since.”

Kyungsoo didn’t want to pry since Mrs. Kim looked as if she was blinking away tears, but something about the end of her story seemed off to Kyungsoo. Perhaps it was just odd for him to imagine any alpha walking away from his pup like that. As much as Kyungsoo used to wish his father would simply abandon him, alpha wolves tended to take personal pride in their offspring and the continuation of their line. Maybe one day he would ask her what changed to cause her to part ways from Jongin’s father, but for now, Kyungsoo let it be.

“I worry so much about Jongin, you know?” Mrs. Kim continued softly. “I didn’t know how to raise a human child, let alone one who was half wolf. He’s always gravitated towards wolves over humans, which is why I have been so grateful for Sehun’s friendship with Jongin, but no one ever treated Jongin like he was anything other than human. I was beginning to think that I was worrying for nothing, that he was as human as I was and somehow made up the whole thing in my head, but then you showed up and proved that he has always been more than he appeared after all.”

Kyungsoo didn’t know what to say to that. The fact that none of the wolves in the surrounding area had been able to notice Jongin’s scent was simply coincidence. Kyungsoo couldn’t help but be grateful for the luck, though. It appeared that Jongin had a great upbringing despite his unusual circumstances. “I think you did a great job. Jongin grew up very kind.”

She gave him a warm smile, wiping a tear away quickly with her hand. “Thank you. I’m sure this situation has been confusing to deal with, for so long even _I_ wasn’t sure if he was going to have a mate or not. I’ve been waiting for this as confirmation.”

Kyungsoo didn’t want to ask, but he knew he had to. “Can you tell me the name of Jongin’s father?”

Her eyes darted away from Kyungsoo’s. “I actually never learned his name. He only had me call him ‘Alpha’.”

Kyungsoo wanted to roll his eyes, but out of respect he didn’t. It used to be common practice for alphas to not share their names with any status ‘lower’ than themselves, but that tradition had pretty much died out everywhere except in the darker parts of the Borderlands. Kyungsoo shouldn’t be that surprised, but it was disappointing all the same to know that this was probably the end of any investigating into Jongin’s past they could do. 

Regardless, Kyungsoo didn’t want to come off as ungrateful. This gave him a final answer as to Jongin’s background and it had been given to him freely. “Thank you for sharing that with me.” Kyungsoo wasn’t known for his way with words, but he tried to fill his tone with as much gratitude as he could muster. 

She gave him a small smile. “Of course. I know you were probably dying for some answers. I mean, that’s why you agreed when Jongin offered you the guest room, isn’t it?”

It was true that he had plenty of questions and getting some answers now was a definite upside to him staying here, but the real reason was because of the unidentified alpha that was watching Jongin. Kyungsoo didn’t want to alarm Mrs. Kim unnecessarily, however, so he simply agreed with her statement with a nod. “It was a bit of a shock, so I appreciate you explaining.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you know? That he was your mate, I mean. No other wolves have treated Jongin as anything other than human.”

“Because wolves feel a Pull towards our mate when we are near them, I already knew Jongin was going to be here when we entered the area.” Kyungsoo admitted, trying to suppress a blush at talking about the ins and outs of finding a mate with Jongin’s mother. “His scent was definitely a shock at first – for both me and my pack after meeting him – because he smells mostly human. I think it’s only because we’ve done special scenting drills as part of our pack exercises for years that we were able to smell anything different about Jongin at all.”

She was nodding along, brows furrowed as she took in the new information. “I suppose that makes sense.”

“If you were in a bigger city where there are more high-profile packs, I’m not sure Jongin would have gone undetected for so long.” Kyungsoo mused. “Moving here was probably essential at keeping Jongin’s past a secret.”

Mrs. Kim let out a small chuckle. “That was the idea.” She breathed, almost too quiet for Kyungsoo to hear. 

The atmosphere was becoming awkward again as both Kyungsoo and Mrs. Kim started to run out of things to say. 

“I was just wondering…” Kyungsoo began, hesitantly. “how you would like to move forward from here?” It felt wrong to realize now that in all his and Suho’s considerations for Jongin’s future and safety, neither of them had factored in his mother and how _she_ would feel or how Jongin may feel leaving her to run off with EXO.

“Jongin’s future has always been a worry of mine.” Her voice was softer now, contemplative. “You can’t even imagine how badly I wanted to explain the truth to Jongin when he was young and asking why he didn’t have a dad, too, or when he would cry because the other human kids were bullying him for being close with Sehun. I have never been able to find the right way to tell him.”

Kyungsoo’s heart ached for her burden of carrying the secret for so long, but he felt the deepest ache for Jongin who has had to face things he was never given the opportunity to understand. Yet Kyungsoo didn’t know the solution, either. “If you think it would be easier, my pack leader or I could –“ Kyungsoo began, only for Mrs. Kim to shake her head.

“Please, let me be the one to explain it to him.” She made direct eye contact with Kyungsoo then, eyes pleading. “I want to be the one to explain at least his past to him. From there, you can help Jongin take charge of his future.”

The weight of that sentence hit Kyungsoo full force, almost causing him to gasp with the intensity he felt in his chest. He was being trusted with Jongin’s future. Even his wolf paused for a moment to take in the magnitude. For Mrs. Kim to trust him with that… the least he could do was comply with her request.

“I will make sure none of my pack tell him anything until you decide.” He told her, returning her eye contact in a promise. 

Her relief was obvious on her face as well as in her shoulders, which slumped back into her chair. “Thank you, Kyungsoo.”

“We are in no rush to leave, and I’m sure the alpha of my pack wouldn’t mind waiting for you to be ready.” As Kyungsoo said this however, he remembered Kris was due to come in the next few weeks, whenever he could get time away from the Council. “Ah, I forgot, we _do_ have the Head of the Alpha Council coming soon.” When her expression grew panicked, Kyungsoo backtracked. “Not for any bad reason, no one is in trouble. Kris – the Head of the Alpha Council – wants to help us ensure that Jongin remains safe, is all.”

Her face relaxed a little, but Kyungsoo could still see emotion in her eyes. “You told the Alpha Council?”

Realizing that the Alpha Council may sound scary to a human, Kyungsoo was quick to explain. “My pack is part of the Council, and my alpha is particularly close with the Head of the Council. The only ones who know about Jongin are my own pack and the Head of Council himself – and we only informed him because we felt it would help ensure Jongin’s safety.”

“Will I be interrogated?” She asked.

Kyungsoo quickly shook his head. “Not if you don’t want to be. This isn’t a criminal investigation, simply a matter of security and secrecy.”

She nodded quietly, expression contemplative. “I think it would be best if I told Jongin before the Alpha Council became involved.” Kyungsoo didn’t quite understand Mrs. Kim’s reasoning behind that, since he had tried to explain that Kris didn’t need to be directly involved with her or Jongin. However, he respected her feelings and if she was uncomfortable with the Alpha Council’s involvement and wanted to tell Jongin beforehand, it was her choice to do so. 

“Jongin and I used to spend some time in a cabin up the nearby mountain during his school breaks.” Mrs. Kim continued. “I would like to spend a little bit of time with him there and tell him in private. If your pack gets news of the Alpha Council coming, please let me know so I can be sure to go before then.”

It made Kyungsoo physically uncomfortable to imagine Jongin going to a cabin in the middle of the forest with only his mother as protection, but he still felt the impact of Mrs. Kim’s words about Jongin’s future. He could suck up his wolf’s anxiety out of respect for a day or two while Mrs. Kim explained Jongin’s circumstances to him in the way she saw fit. “As soon as I know any details, you’ll be the first to know.” Kyungsoo promised her.

Mrs. Kim gave him a grateful smile as she stood from her seat at the table. “Thank you, Kyungsoo. I appreciate your understanding.”

 

Mrs. Kim had soon ushered Kyungsoo up to the guest room, apologizing profusely for keeping him up so late. Kyungsoo didn’t mind the late hour in the slightest, the confirmation about Jongin’s past was worth losing a little bit of sleep for. He wished he could go to Suho right away to relay the new information, but it didn’t quite make sense to bother Suho this late when Kyungsoo would see him the next day for the mandatory pack training. He’d just have to wait until then to share all the new information.

As Kyungsoo lay in his guest bed, he couldn’t stop his mind from running over Mrs. Kim’s story in his head. There were still some parts of the story that didn’t make complete sense to Kyungsoo, like why Jongin’s father would leave after Mrs. Kim became pregnant or why an alpha that was old fashioned enough to have Mrs. Kim only refer to him as ‘Alpha’ instead of his name would even be with a human in the first place, especially given the attitudes of alpha wolves from the Borderlands. Kyungsoo couldn’t help but feel that there was something missing from the story of Jongin’s conception – like he was missing the last few puzzle pieces that would allow Kyungsoo to finally see the big picture. But he supposed that without any information to find Jongin’s father and ask those questions himself, this was the best he could hope for.

At least Mrs. Kim’s story proved that there was no danger in a human and wolf being together romantically. Kyungsoo worried about a lot of things when it came to his and Jongin’s (hopefully) eventual relationship. Jongin’s father had not claimed Mrs. Kim as a mate in the way Kyungsoo longed to claim Jongin, but just the minimum fact that Jongin was able to be conceived at all brought a little bit of hope to Kyungsoo and to Kyungsoo’s wolf.

It was to the thought of a hopeful future with Jongin after all that Kyungsoo finally drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was really difficult for me since it is a pretty pivotal plot point moving forward… I kept worrying about it to the point where I couldn’t bring myself to post, but at this point I don’t know if I will ever be 100% confident and I didn’t want you guys to have to wait any longer. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Mrs. Kim’s story – was it what you expected??  
> As always, thank you for reading and being so kind in the comments ㅠㅠ I’m always so excited to post, I sincerely hope that this chapter was enjoyable and didn’t fall flat. I <3 you guys!  
> Some pack training and maybe the start of some drama next time~~ *dun dUN DUN* I’ll try and be quicker this time OTL  
> \- whatyouthoughtyousaw


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